The bouquet sat on the table, a painful reminder of what I had destroyed—Chris’s trust, our fragile connection, and the love of a friend who once trusted me implicitly.
I sank to the floor, hugging my knees, as shame washed over me. It wasn’t just Chris’s anger that haunted me, but the truth of his words. I had betrayed Stella, my best friend, for a man who couldn’t even promise me a future.
I wiped my tears away, but they kept coming, the weight of my choices crushing me. My phone buzzed on the nightstand, snapping me out of my spiral. I scrambled to grab it, hoping for some distraction, but my heart sank as Nicolas’s name flashed on the screen.
I hesitated, torn between answering and ignoring it. My thumb hovered over the screen, but the guilt from Chris’s words still rang in my ears.
