THE BREAKING POINT
1064 Words
Milly didn't remember how she got to the guest room.
One second she was standing at the door of Yannis's bedroom, staring at a nightmare.
And the next, her friends were dragging her down the hall, her legs limp beneath her, her lungs barely holding air.
Andrea was the first to pull her into a tight embrace, whispering something—anything—to soften the blow. Alina grabbed a robe from one of the closets and threw it around Milly's shoulders. Aria was pacing, muttering curses under her breath, while Wendy hovered with a glass of water that Milly couldn't bring herself to touch.
"She was in his bed." The words fell from her lips like broken glass. "She was naked... in his bed."
"Breathe, Milly," Andrea said softly, smoothing her hair. "You need to breathe."
"I trusted her," Milly choked out. "I would've died for her."
"She's a b***h," Hannah snapped. "A snake. We knew something was off when they kept sneaking glances at each other."
"They were a little too comfortable last night. I should have said something when I saw them in the kitchen," Aria agreed coldly. "I just thought—God—I thought it was harmless."
Wendy placed a hand on Milly's shoulder. "Maybe she was drunk. She clearly looked lost. I really don't think Katie would do such a thing to you on purpose. Maybe—"
"Don't you dare defend her," Milly snapped, her voice sharp as steel. "She looked me in the eye last night and told me she loved me. She helped pick the wine. She helped plan this damn trip."
She wiped at her face, furious to find it wet.
Tears?
She didn't cry. Not for boys. Not for heartbreak.
But this—this was betrayal in its purest form.
Not just Yiannis. Katie.
Her Katie.
The girl she'd spent every summer with. The one she'd cried to after every breakup. The one who had held her hand through college, through her parents' fights, through life.
She had never once thought Katie would be the one to break her.
But she had.
And she'd done it with Milly's future.
"I saw the way he looked at her," she whispered, curling in on herself on the velvet chaise. "He didn't even deny it. He protected her. He said he loves her. He said it to my face!".
Aria's eyes narrowed. "Then he's a dead man."
Louisa crossed her arms, cold fury written across her face. "We were all rooting for them. Milly and Yannis. We believed in that love. That ring on your finger? We celebrated that."
Milly looked down at the glittering diamond that still clung stubbornly to her hand. Her stomach twisted.
She ripped it off.
And threw it across the room.
The sound of it hitting the wall echoed like a gunshot.
Silence followed.
Then, slowly, Andrea spoke again. "Do you want us to handle this?"
Milly's eyes burned. "What do you mean?"
Andrea exchanged a glance with Alina and Aria. "We mean... do you want to make them regret ever doing this to you?"
Milly didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she stood, her legs still unsteady as she walked to the window. And in that moment, something inside her shifted.
Cold.
Hard.
Focused.
"She was my sister," she said softly. "And he was the man I was going to marry."
She turned to face the girls, her voice like ice. "Now? They're both strangers."
Wendy looked uncertain. "Milly... revenge might not—"
"This isn't about revenge," she cut in, her voice steel. "It's about survival. They broke me."
Her eyes darkened. "So I'm going to return the favor."
⸻
Katie hadn't slept.
She sat on the floor of her apartment, back pressed to the wall, wearing the same hoodie Adrian had given her that morning. Her phone lay next to her, face down. It had been buzzing on and off for the past two hours.
She hadn't dared to look—until now.
With a shaking hand, she picked it up and turned the screen over.
13 missed messages.
All from the group chat.
"Venus Vixens"—that was what they called themselves. Eight girls. Eight lives intertwined since teenage years. Katie, Milly, Andrea, Hannah, Alina, Wendy, Aria, Louisa.
Until now.
Her fingers hovered before she finally tapped open the thread.
And instantly wished she hadn't.
⸻
Louisa:
You really did it, huh?
Wendy:
Ladies, let's all calm down. Allow her to explain
Andrea:
Are you seriously not going to respond?
Alina:
You were NAKED in his bed, in the night of her bachelorette party!. What explanation could there possibly be?. How shameful.
Hannah:
You were her sister, Katie. Her ride or die. And this is what you do? Couldn't you have picked someone else?.
Aria:
Don't bother coming to the wedding because it is still on. Yiannis just used you and dumped you and now, this group is done with you too
Louisa:
We can't believe anything you say anymore. If you could do this, what else have you lied about?
Andrea:
We don't want to hear excuses. Just stay away from all of us, we don't know whose wedding you would try to ruin next.
Alina:
I hope you never find true love.
⸻
Katie stared at the screen, a fresh wave of nausea hitting her. Her breath caught in her throat.
They had turned.
All of them.
She knew it was coming—knew the moment Milly walked out of that room and the others followed that something irreversible had shifted.
But still... it hurt.
She hadn't just lost Milly. She'd lost seven women who had grown up with her, cried with her, held her hand through breakups and birthdays and breakdowns.
They were her history.
Her home.
Now she was the villain in a story she didn't even mean to write.
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks as she typed.
Katie:
I'm sorry. I don't expect forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her. Or any of you.
She hovered over the keyboard for a moment... then added:
Katie:
You don't have to believe me. But I love you all like family.
And hit send.
The "seen" notifications came in one by one.
No one responded.
A few seconds later, she was removed from the group chat.
And just like that, she was alone.
Truly, painfully, completely alone.
- Writer
