Chapter 25: Breaking Point
245 Words
Maria didn’t cry.
Not when she heard her name tossed around like a joke.
Not even when she saw Daniel lean in and brush Sheila’s arm like it meant nothing — because maybe to him, it never did.
She just stood there, still as stone, her heart bleeding in silence.
When the footsteps faded and the voices disappeared into the night, she stepped out from the shadows. Her body moved on its own, slow and heavy, like the weight of betrayal was pulling her to the ground.
She walked back to her room, numb.
No tears.
No screams.
Just silence.
Inside, the familiar scent of her vanilla air freshener felt foreign. She dropped her phone on the bed and stood by the mirror, staring at her reflection.
Her eyes looked hollow. Her lips trembled slightly.
But even now, a small voice inside whispered, “You can’t break. Not like this.”
She picked up her phone again and scrolled through old messages — the sweet words, the silly voice notes, the late-night check-ins.
Lies.
All of it.
She tapped on Emeka’s chat.
Maria: “You were right. I heard it all.”
His reply came fast.
Emeka: “Damn. Want me to come over?”
Maria: “No. I’m done crying. I want payback.”
That was the first time Maria smiled that night — not because she was okay, but because a storm was finally rising inside her.
And Daniel wouldn’t see it coming.
- Writer
