STUCK BETWEEN TWO RIVALS.

The grand hall of Morchester University’s Faculty of Business Management was alive with excitement. The air itself seemed to vibrate with the sound of clapping, cheering, and camera flashes bouncing off glossy banners. Rows of students in their navy-blue gowns filled the seats, their faces shining with relief, pride, and expectation. Today was the day they had been waiting for — graduation day. Families leaned forward with their phones raised high, trying to capture every moment. The polished wooden floor reflected the lights from above, and a faint smell of fresh flowers mixed with perfume drifted through the hall. Professor Morgana Ryan, the dean, stood on stage holding the list of names. Her voice rang clearly over the speakers. “Ashley Rodriguez!” Ashley jumped a little before standing. She walked to the stage, her steps small but steady, her smile soft. She accepted her certificate, shaking the dean’s hand as applause broke out. She bowed politely and said, “Thank you, ma’am.” The cameras clicked rapidly. The students clapped, and Ashley hurried back to her seat, her certificate clutched tightly to her chest. “John Beckham!” John stood tall, straightening his shoulders as he walked across the stage with confidence. He shook the professor’s hand, lifted the certificate proudly, and smiled brightly for the cameras. The cheers grew louder, and his friends shouted his name as he returned to his seat. Professor Morgana raised her voice again, and this time it carried a note of pride that filled the hall with anticipation. “And last but not least, our best graduating student, Rachel Shen!” The moment Rachel’s name left the professor’s lips, the hall erupted. The applause turned into a roar, echoing through the walls. Rachel rose slowly. Her gown flowed around her legs, and her strawberry-blonde hair shimmered under the stage lights. Her blue eyes glistened as she walked forward, calm on the outside but with her heart racing inside her chest. To many in the hall, she looked like someone from a painting — poised, beautiful, untouchable. But inside, Rachel only felt the weight of years of struggle, the long nights, the sacrifices. At the end of the stage, Professor Wilhelmina Noah, the vice-chancellor, stepped forward with a genuine smile. She handed Rachel a fresh flower, its petals trembling in her grip. “I’m so proud of you,” she said warmly. Rachel’s lips curved into a grateful smile. “Thank you,” she whispered softly. They posed for the cameras together. The flashes lit Rachel’s face, capturing her beauty, her pride, and her quiet joy. The photographs would tell a story of success, but only Rachel knew the pain behind it. When the photographers were done, the vice-chancellor pressed the microphone into Rachel’s hand. “Why don’t you say a few words?” she suggested kindly. Rachel hesitated, her heart thumping in her chest. She looked out at the sea of faces. For a second, everything blurred — but then she drew in a breath and spoke. “I just want to thank God,” she began softly, her voice carrying across the hall. “And honestly, I worked so hard because I wanted to make my boyfriend, Liam Paige, proud.” She smiled faintly as she said his name, her eyes scanning the crowd quickly, searching. But as her gaze moved across the rows of students, families, and professors, her chest tightened. She couldn’t see him anywhere. Her smile faltered. The joy in her face dimmed like a candle in the wind. A sudden uneasiness swept over her. Quickly, she handed the microphone back and bowed slightly before rushing off the stage. “Rachel!” Professor Morgana called after her. But Rachel didn’t stop. Outside, she moved fast across the pavement. The graduation flower still trembled in her hand as she waved for a cab. Her phone was already in her other hand, her thumb flying over the screen as she dialed Liam’s number. “House number 20, Zarx Street,” she told the driver breathlessly as she climbed into the cab. The line rang and rang, but Liam didn’t answer. She tried again. Still nothing. Her pulse quickened. With a shaky sigh, she typed a message: Are you sick? Please tell me you’re okay. Today is important to me. She stared at the screen, but no reply came. The thirty-minute ride stretched painfully long. Outside, the city moved past — busy sidewalks, flashing shop signs, traffic buzzing like angry bees. Rachel pressed the flower to her lap, her knuckles white from holding it too tightly. Every red light felt like a punishment. Every ticking second seemed to whisper that something wasn’t right. Finally, the cab pulled up outside Liam’s house. Her stomach clenched. She handed the driver some bills and got out quickly. The house looked the same as always — neat, familiar, with the little garden in front. For years, it had felt like another home to her. Today, it looked strangely cold. She straightened her blouse, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell. Once. Twice. Three times. Silence. She rang it again, harder this time. Still nothing. Rachel’s hand trembled as she reached into her purse and pulled out her spare key. Slowly, she turned it in the lock. The click echoed too loudly in the stillness. Inside, the air was heavy. Too heavy. The first thing she noticed was the pair of light-brown Gucci heels on the floor. They didn’t belong to her. “I don’t own these,” she whispered to herself, frowning. Her breath came faster. She started up the stairs, her footsteps slow but loud in her own ears. “Liam!” she called. No answer. Only silence, pressing against her. And then she heard it. A woman’s giggle. Soft, playful. The sound shot through her like ice. Then Liam’s voice, low but clear, mixing with the laughter. Her heart sank. Rachel’s hand shook as she pushed the bedroom door open. And her world broke. Liam was in bed, sheets tangled around him — and beside him was Charlotte. For a moment, Rachel’s mind refused to believe it. Charlotte? She wasn’t just some random woman. Rachel knew her face well. Charlotte had always been a tight friend of Rita, Liam’s younger sister. She had seen them together many times, laughing in cafes, walking around campus, even stopping by Liam’s house. That was how Rachel knew her — not as a rival, not as a threat, but as Rita’s close friend. Someone safe. Someone within the circle. Now, that same woman was in bed with the man she loved. Rachel’s voice tore out of her, raw and broken. “Oh my God! Liam!” Tears rushed down her cheeks, blinding her vision. “Rachel? Why… why are you back so soon?” Liam stammered. “Back so soon? That’s all you have to say to me? No explanation of what I just saw? Liam, I just caught you in bed with another woman!! How long have you been cheating on me with Charlotte?!” Liam got up and slapped her. “Since when do I answer to you? This is Charlotte, my new girlfriend.... Treat her with respect.” “Your new girlfriend?!” Rachel asked in shock. “Yes... And you have no right to glare at her the way you did earlier.” Rachel slowly fell to her knees, shaking. “No… no… this can’t be real.” Liam tried to walk away with the woman — Charlotte — but Rachel blocked the door. With her anger flaring up, Charlotte grabbed a vase and smashed it against Rachel’s head. Rachel winced in pain but stood her ground. “I’m not done talking to my boyfriend,” she told Charlotte. She turned to Liam. “Did I do something wrong? Tell me so I can fix it.” “You yelled at Charlotte... And I don’t want you anymore. You’re like an old shoe I’m tired of.” Rachel’s eyes filled with pain. “We’ve known each together for eight years and have been together for five years. I’ve done everything I can think of to proof my love for you.” Liam sneered. “I never asked you to do what you did! Rachel, I never once loved you... I only dated you because you founded a company and gave my parents the entire shares of the company you founded, infact, dating you was all their ideas as I've never for a day have a fleeting feeling for you... Stop deluding yourself, thinking I love you because, I don't! Let me tell you incase you didn't know before: 'What I have for you is "HATE," I HATE YOU RACHEL...” Rachel shook her head and said,“You’re lying.” “I’m not. I never loved you. Not now, not ever.” As soon as Liam dropped the bomb in form of words on Rachel, Charlotte who was behind him smirked at Rachel and gave her a smug and pitiful look. Rachel pleaded, “What about your promises? You said you’d propose to me after my graduation.” “I was acting,” Liam said coldly. “I was just playing around with your heart and your feelings...Did you think I was being serious the day I said that to you? Rachel, you have to know that men say a lot of things when he's on top of a woman, having fantastic s*x with her...I was just being a man that day.” “You bastard!” Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs. Liam laughed. “You look so pathetic right now... You should look at the mirror and see how you look.” “Well, at least I’m prettier than that slut, you call girlfriend!! Can you say otherwise?” Rachel shot back. Liam slapped her again and said, “Don’t insult her. She’s better than you in every way. You’re just an orphan with nothing. Charlotte is a rich heiress. With her, I can become powerful.” “So you’re leaving me simply because she’s rich?” Rachel asked in disbelief. Liam whispered in her ear and said,“Exactly. You can’t give me what I want,” but Charlotte can." As soon as she heard what Liam said, Rachel’s tears started to flow harder. “I can’t believe you’ve sunk this low.” She said bitterly as she glared at him. Liam leaned back, lips curved into a wide grin that didn’t reach his eyes. His voice carried arrogance as sharp as the smirk on his face. “You have yourself to blame for introducing me to wealth,” he said, looking straight at Rachel like he had already won some unspoken battle. Rachel’s chest rose and fell hard, but before she could even speak, Liam’s tone dropped, smooth and cruel. "Rachel, I wanted to find a good way and day to break up with you and let you know that I'm tired of this relationship I have with you, a relationship that can't even make my heart beat or flutter no matter how hard I tried to make it do so. Now, I don't think there's any need for that since you ran into me and Charlotte... Bear in mind that you didn't caught me cheating.... You just walked into me with my new girlfriend which I wasn't really happy or comfortable with so let's end things here cleanly... Let's say goodbye to each other with no hard feelings, okay?" His eyes narrowed when he caught her glare. "Don't you glare at me like that, Rachel!! I only dated you because my parents forced me to after they saw your efforts in pursuing me, okay? They just pitied you because you looked pathetic and miserable like a child desperate for her father's love and attention and told me to accept your feelings that you kept showing and parading in front of them and my friends..." His words dripped with disdain. "In all my twenty-three years of existing on earth as a human being I've never seen a girl as dumb and foolish like you all because of love. Like who the hell can you tell me now that spends everyday of their time working at construction sites and working numerous multiple part-time jobs and doing all kinds of hard labour jobs that many would run away from because of what it requires and takes to do such kind of jobs... just because they need to make some money which I completely understand as I can relate to it since I was like that when I was still a kid... but then, they keep on working and working and working and barely even having the time to come to school to attend classes... They keep on working their ass of while depending on studying with borrowed notes from course mates because they don't even have a little bit of time for themselves at all then after working so hard to earn and save so much money, they start a company which is very applaudable but after working so hard to build the company they founded from scratch, after working so hard and sacrificing a lot and so much to build the company they founded from the very ground up all the way to the top and finally, after all the hard work and sacrifices they had to put into the company paid off, after they successfully turn the company into a multi-million dollar company which is no easy feat to do, a feat which a lot of people were happy with them for and celebrated with them for, then after a while, the next thing they heard is that the company owner, who they were rooting for and cheering for, the company owner, without holding or looking back just takes the entire company that took them two long and hard years to build up into a successful company and hands it over easily and free of charge to someone else just like that! Tell me! Who does that? Who the hell does that?! Because, I've tried so hard to find another person who could be like that but I'm yet to find one! Maybe, I'm the one who is not looking hard enough." Liam turned his head toward Charlotte, his lips curling. “Charlotte, have you, perhaps seen or heard of anyone that stupid to hand over their hard work to others for free? Because I've been looking for someone like that to add to the person we both know of but I haven't been able to find them yet... Have you?” Charlotte’s laugh was sharp, dripping with mockery. She flicked her hair back and answered without hesitation, saying:"No, I haven't! What kind of question is that? Infact, that isn't even a kind of question to ask because no one on earth is that charitable.... Not even in the face of love..... Everyone living in this world are selfish. Rachel, you really live up to a very ancient word from an ancient high Norpondian language spoken only by nobles and highborn thousands of years ago... there's a word in the language that sounds just like your name, 'Rachel,' I think the word was 'Racheldixipixiria,' which is translated in English as 'A Divine Bright Light that shines in darkness.' Hahaha! Wow! Oh my God!! Rachel? Are you sure your name wasn't taken from that language? I know 'Rachel' is a Hebrew word that's used as modern English names for females because of the meaning of it but I can't stop myself from thinking your name was taken from 'Racheldixipixiria.' Why? The answer is simple, you were the divine light that shined into Liam's parent's lives...." Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with cruel delight as her laugh filled the room. "Wow, I can still remember Liam's mom working as a kitchen maid for my dad back in Ocean City in our Dylan Family Mansion... Even Liam's Father worked as a carwasher, then he became a driver to my dad for years without daring to raise his head to look at me, my parents, my older sister, or any of my brothers.... Then all of a sudden... Like Boom!!! You came with your holy divine light and shined it at them.... You didn't only shine your light on them, you even made them to bask in your divine light by transferring your stakes and shares to Liam's parents free of charge... A move that turned the Paige Family into a millionaire that made a lot of people to start seeing them in a new light, your divine light!! Hahaha! Recalling the news headline that was written about them that read: 'From Grass to Grace, From Peasants to Merchants, From Work Finders To Work Givers,' is making me to laugh in Spanish. Hahahahaha. Please, Rachel, can you also start a company to dash me too after turning it into a multi-million dollar company? I'm stuck running an Art Gallery and I'd like to run an actual company for a change." Her sarcastic laughter cut into Rachel like a blade. “See?” Liam sneered, his chuckle low and mocking. “Rachel, you can now see that you are the odd among all humans, right?” Rachel’s hands balled into fists at her sides. Her head snapped up, and her voice tore out raw, filled with all the emotion she had been holding back. “Shut your dirty wide mouth, Liam!!” Her chest heaved, her glare sharp as blades of ice. She forced herself to breathe, to hold down the riot of emotions threatening to break free from the cage of her heart. Her voice steadied, even if it shook with pain. “Liam, I know you despise me now but don't treat my gratitude to your parents for raising you as 'stupid' or 'foolish,' because I'm not stupid or foolish... Yes, I know I'm many things but those two words aren't among the things I am so stop it!! Now is no longer a good time to talk about us as our emotions are already rilled up to talk anything good... If you want or need time and space to think and sort out your feelings about me and about our relationship, I can give you all the time and space that you need but don't say 'We are done.' My fragile heart can't bear the brunt and weight of those words." Liam’s jaw tightened, his eyes frosty as frustration burned hot in his chest. He snapped. "Rachel, I don't care about your fragile heart!! Okay?!! Look, Rachel, I'm being honest with you right now but why aren't you taking it seriously?! Huh?! Do you want me to keep being your boyfriend while keeping up with my acting of being a good boyfriend to you despite the fact that I loathe, hate, despise, and disgust you, tell me, Rachel, do you?!! Huh?!! Do you want to keep having me pretend to be a good boyfriend to you in front of others despite knowing fully well that I feel nothing but hate and disgust for you?" Rachel’s lips parted, trembling, but no sound came out. Her words were stuck, strangled in her throat. Liam leaned closer, his voice cutting deeper. "Or wait, are you being clingy to me like this because of Paige Corporation, the company you gave to my parents? If that is it then you can stop clinging to me now because during the past five years we've been dating, I've spent a lot of effort to save some money up and invest it on stocks, some small startups and some other projects I can't tell you about... But anyway, I earned a lot of cash last week.... 300 Million Gilead dollars to be exact... and without wasting time, I immediately sent the money into your bank account because I've long been preparing for our breakup.... You ought to have gotten a bank alert from your bank, oh, wait! I forgot! Silly me, how can I forget that you barely even have time to eat or sleep properly because of the numerous multiple part-time jobs you engage yourself in." He sighed, mocking her exhaustion. "Perhaps the alert came but you didn't even have the time to check your phone.... Anyways, I've already sent you the money, okay? I sent the whole 300 Million Gilead dollars to you without taking a cent because that was what Richel Corporation was worth then before you handed it to my parents who went ahead to rebrand it to Paige Corporation... So with this, I and my family don't owe you anything anymore and just so you know, this is the last time I'm gonna see or let you show up in front of me again.... We are done, Rachel! Register that in your brain!! Don't let my eyes see you in front of me or anywhere around me next time because if I do... I'm already beginning to pity you because you won't like the things I will do to you neither would you be able to believe that I had such cruelty in me...." His arm slid around Charlotte’s waist. His tone shifted, soft and sweet, a performance just for her. “Babe, I'm really sorry you had to see and witness all this... And I'm sorry for ruining our plans for today but don't worry, okay? Because I'm gonna make it up to you.... You know what? Let's get outta here! Let's go on a date!! Hmm, as for the location, let's just go out to that your favourite spot in downtown and spend some cash then have some good time and real fun there...." Charlotte’s nod was small, her reply soft. “Okay.” Liam’s eyes widened, then lit up. "You agree?! Like you really agree to go on a date with me after what just happened?!!" When her hazel eyes confirmed it, he pulled her into his arms, spinning her around before planting a kiss on her lips. His grin was wild. "That's great, Babe! Thanks for agreeing to go on a date with me despite seeing an eyesore today at my place... Wait, what are we still doing and waiting here for? Let's move out already! And, Babe, don't even think about limiting your alcohol intake today because you need to drive yourself home because I'm gonna be your chauffeur today." Charlotte’s cheeks burned red, her ears glowing as she whispered, “Okay.” Then she tiptoed, pressing her lips against his in a deep, passionate kiss—right in front of Rachel, who sat frozen on the floor, her eyes wide like she was watching a nightmare unfold. Hand in hand, smiling, Liam and Charlotte walked out, their bodies almost glued together. Rachel blinked, snapping out of her daze just in time to see the door closing behind them. Her heart caved in. She clawed her nails into her palms, forcing herself to her feet, and ran. Her voice cracked as she screamed, desperate. “Liam, wait! Come back!! Please wait!! Liam!!!” She chased them through the dark alley, her footsteps echoing. When she finally stumbled out, breathless, she caught sight of them climbing into the white BMW—his twentieth birthday gift from her. The engine roared to life. In a split second, the car shot forward like a bullet—straight at her. Rachel froze, too late to move. The impact sent her crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. Blood spilled across the pavement. Her blurred gaze followed the BMW as it vanished into the distance. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “Liam…” Then her eyes fluttered shut enveloping her world with darkness.