Chapter 1
1320 Words
I never thought betrayal would greet me with silence.
Not shouting. Not chaos. Just silence.
The kind that settles deep in your bones and whispers that something is wrong.
The apartment was too quiet when I opened the door. No music playing, no clinking of dishes, no familiar voice calling out from the kitchen. Just... stillness.
It was the kind of silence that makes you hesitate in the doorway, wondering if you walked into the wrong place—or the wrong moment.
“Ethan?” I called out, kicking the door closed behind me.
No answer.
That was odd. He always had the TV on, even when he wasn’t watching it—some stupid action movie or a basketball game humming in the background. But now, the apartment felt… still. As if it were holding its breath.
I set the bags down on the kitchen counter, frowning at the quiet. “Babe?”
Still nothing.
Then I heard it. A soft thud. A muffled laugh. A moan.
My heart clenched, and I froze.
No. No, no. It couldn’t be what I thought it was. I was being paranoid. Maybe he was watching something on his phone. Maybe—
Another moan, louder this time. And then a woman’s voice. Familiar. Too familiar.
Jade.
My stomach dropped.
I moved on instinct, feet barely touching the floor as I made my way down the hall. My fingers trembled as I reached for the bedroom doorknob. Part of me screamed to turn around. To leave. To pretend I didn’t know what was about to happen.
But I couldn’t.
I pushed the door open.
And there they were.
Ethan. Shirtless. Hovering over Jade, her legs wrapped around him, her nails digging into his back like she owned him. My best friend. In my bed. With my boyfriend.
They didn’t notice me right away. It took a second for reality to register on Ethan’s face, and when it did, he jolted like I’d slapped him.
“Camille—s**t—”
Jade gasped and pulled the sheets over herself, her cheeks flushed in a way I’d never seen when she was laughing in my living room or sharing margaritas with me on girls' night.
I didn’t scream. Didn’t cry. I just… stood there, as if my soul had disconnected from my body.
“Don’t,” I whispered when Ethan tried to move toward me. “Don’t even try.”
He had the nerve to look ashamed. “Babe, it’s not what it—”
“Don’t.”
I turned around and walked out. My feet moved like I was underwater. The grocery bags I’d dropped earlier had spilled onto the carpet—cracked eggs oozing onto my rug, the bottle of orange juice tipped and leaking slowly like some poetic metaphor.
It didn’t matter.
I left.
I walked until my legs couldn’t carry me anymore and called the only person who had never let me down.
Natalie picked up on the second ring. “Cam? You okay?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat burned. My chest ached.
“Camille?” Her voice tightened. “What happened?”
“I… I saw them.” I could barely get the words out. “Ethan and Jade. In bed. Together.”
Silence.
Then: “Where are you?”
“On the street. I don’t know. I just left.”
“Come to my place. Now. I have a bottle of wine . And if you want to throw a lamp at a wall, I’ll help you aim.”
I laughed through the tears I didn’t even realize had started falling. “I’m on my way.”
---
Natalie’s place was small but warm, the kind of apartment that hugged you. She met me at the door in fuzzy socks and a messy bun, immediately wrapping her arms around me like a human life raft.
“I can’t believe that snake,” she muttered. “Both of them. They deserve each other—untrustworthy, backstabbing, s*x-addicted rats.”
“I let them in,” I whispered, collapsing onto her couch with the mug of cocoa she handed me. “Into my life. My home.”
“You trusted them. That’s not your fault.”
“I feel stupid.”
“You’re not. You’re hurt. And betrayed. But never stupid.” She paused. “Actually… Ethan is stupid. I mean, have you seen your reflection? He’s going to regret this for the rest of his life.”
A sad smile tugged at my lips. “You’re biased.”
“I’m also right.”
We sat in silence for a while, the sound of the rain tapping softly against the window. Natalie glanced at me, then picked up her laptop.
“I have an idea.”
“I don’t think I’m in the mood for ideas.”
“Well, tough,” she said, typing rapidly. “Because you’ve been stuck in this city with a boring job and a mediocre boyfriend. And now that you’re free of both, it’s time.”
“Time for what?”
“To finally chase that dream you’ve been putting off since college.”
“What dream?”
“New York.”
I blinked. “Be serious.”
“I am. Look.” She turned the laptop toward me. “Montclair Holdings. Top investment firm. They’re looking for a new executive assistant. High-paying, fast-paced, intense.”
I scanned the listing. My heart thumped.
“‘Discreet, resilient, confident under pressure,’” I read aloud. “That’s not me.”
“That’s absolutely you,” Natalie argued. “You survived working for that passive-aggressive mess of a boss for three years. You’ve got admin skills, problem-solving instincts, and the patience of a saint.”
“I’ve never even been to New York.”
“Then it’s about damn time.”
I hesitated, nerves fluttering like trapped birds in my chest. What if I failed? What if I wasn’t enough?
Natalie must’ve seen it on my face, because she softened. “Cam, what happened to you sucks. But it’s also your second chance. Don’t stay here because it’s safe. Go where you’ll grow.”
It hit me then—how small my life had become. How much I’d settled. How long I’d been waiting for someone else to give me permission to want more.
I didn’t need permission anymore.
I nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll apply.”
“Tonight?”
“Tonight.”
-----
Two days later, I was staring at my packed suitcase, feeling like I’d jumped off a cliff.
Everything happened so fast. The application, the call, the virtual interview. The offer. A ticket booked within hours. A whirlwind.
I glanced around Natalie’s apartment, already missing her warmth and constant optimism.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked, handing me coffee in a travel cup with a Sharpie heart drawn on the lid.
“No.” I smiled. “But I’m going anyway.”
She pulled me into a hug, tighter than ever before. “Go shine, okay? Don’t let any grumpy CEO scare you. And if he does—just picture him in clown shoes.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You love me.”
“I do.”
At the airport, everything felt surreal. My suitcase bumped behind me, my feet moving on autopilot. I kept thinking I’d turn around and see Ethan chasing after me, or Jade standing smugly at security.
But no one came.
No one tried to stop me.
Because I wasn’t the girl waiting to be saved anymore.
As the gate attendant called my boarding group, I exhaled, shoulders lighter than they’d been in years.
I stepped onto the plane.
Took my seat by the window.
Closed my eyes as the engines hummed to life.
And whispered, more to myself than anyone else—
“New York, here I come.”
- Writer
