Vivian's eyes were glued to the door as Julian exited, his departure punctuated by the weight of his silence. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving her in a state of limbo, torn between the remnants of anger and the chaos of her emotions. The air in the room felt thick, heavy with the suffocating presence of betrayal. She hadn't said much to him. In fact, she hadn't said anything at all—just allowed his presence to hang like a curse in the air. He had broken her. Not with words, but with actions. Actions that were louder than any apology he could ever offer.
She stood still for a moment, letting the tension dissolve into the silence, her heart pounding in her chest. But then the hum of her phone vibrated on the table. Vivian didn't have to check it to know who it was. She had already prepared herself for the next inevitable step. It was Aurora.
Aurora. Her once-close friend. The one who had now become her most dangerous adversary. She could feel it now—the heavy weight of the betrayal, like chains wrapping around her wrists, suffocating the breath from her chest. She had tried to maintain her composure when Julian left, but everything within her shattered now. How was she supposed to handle this?
Her thumb swiped across the screen, opening the message thread with a quick tap. It was just the beginning.
"Aren't you going to ask about the Paris trip?" The message was short, direct. No sugarcoating. It was as if Aurora had been waiting for the perfect moment to unleash everything, and now that Julian was gone, she was stepping into the storm.
Vivian's throat tightened as the words sank in. She didn't need any more explanations. She knew the truth, even if she didn't want to face it. But Aurora had gone too far this time. Paris? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Her fingers trembled slightly as she typed a response.
"What do you want, Aurora?" Vivian didn't want to give her the satisfaction of engaging, but there was a part of her—an angry, reckless part—that wanted to tear down the walls of their twisted relationship.
Aurora's response came faster than Vivian expected. "I need to explain myself. I owe you that, don't I?"
Vivian scoffed. Owe her? After everything? After the lies, the betrayal, the months of deceit? Aurora had never owed her anything but honesty—and that had been tossed aside the moment their affair had started.
But Aurora wasn't backing down. She never had been one to apologize for her actions. "I didn't mean for this to happen," Aurora continued in a voice message. "But Julian and I... it's complicated, Viv. You wouldn't understand."
Vivian's chest tightened. How many times had she heard that? How many times had she stood by, watching as Julian and Aurora grew closer while she remained in the background? You wouldn't understand—that had always been their excuse. But not anymore. Not now.
Her thumb hovered over the screen, unsure of what to say next. Should she keep quiet? Let Aurora dig her own grave? Or should she demand the truth? The real truth. The one she hadn't been ready to hear until now.
But Aurora wasn't done. Her next message made Vivian's heart drop into her stomach.
"Do you want to know about Paris?" Aurora's voice held a malicious edge, dripping with something close to satisfaction. "Julian and I went away together. Just the two of us. He told you it was business, but he was lying, Viv. He was lying to you the whole time."
Vivian's breath hitched. A punch to the gut. A betrayal too deep to fathom. Paris. That trip. It had always been a mystery. Julian had insisted it was business, work he needed to attend to. But now? Now, Aurora was shattering that illusion.
Vivian's fingers tightened around the phone, but she didn't respond right away. She couldn't. She had to hold herself together, to remain steady. This wasn't about Julian anymore. It was about her. Her strength. Her resolve.
Another message came through, even as she was still processing the shock.
"Do you know what he did to me while you were... waiting at home, Viv?" Aurora continued, her voice cutting through the phone like a knife. "He told me he couldn't see me anymore. He kept saying you were always there. But then... he'd lie. He'd say 'I'm busy, I'm working late.'" Her tone turned venomous. "I'd wait for him to come back, not knowing he was with me instead. With me, while you waited, thinking everything was fine."
Vivian's eyes blurred with tears as the reality of Aurora's words hit her like a freight train. How many times had Julian promised her he was working late? How many times had she believed him, thought nothing of it, while he was with Aurora? How long had this been going on?
"I never wanted this, Viv," Aurora's voice cracked slightly as if she were trying to sound sincere. "But you need to understand. He's been mine from the start. I know you think you have him, but you don't. Not really. Not the way I do."
Vivian's chest tightened with a mixture of hurt and fury. How could she be so cold? So cruel?
"Do you want to hear something else?" Aurora continued, her tone now one of smug satisfaction. "You're not even good in bed. That's the truth, Viv. He told me. He told me how you always acted like you knew everything, how you thought you had everything figured out. But you don't. Not like me."
Vivian's hand trembled as she held the phone, her entire body numb with the shock of Aurora's words. She could feel the sting of each syllable like a slap to the face. It was as if everything she thought she knew about herself, about her relationship with Julian, had been ripped away, leaving her exposed. But what hit her hardest wasn't the insult about her. It was the realization that Julian had said those things about her. Had used her, betrayed her, and made her feel like she was nothing.
"I never wanted to hurt you, Viv," Aurora said, as if trying to soften the blow. "But you need to realize something. I am better for him. I give him the things you can't. He needs me. He always has."
Vivian felt the wave of anger rise inside her. She wanted to scream, to throw the phone across the room, but she didn't. Instead, she took a deep breath. She had never been more broken, more shattered. But she would never give Aurora the satisfaction of seeing her crumble. Not now. Not after everything.
"You've made your point, Aurora," Vivian finally replied, her voice sharp, cold. She didn't care anymore. She wasn't playing the good, forgiving friend. Not anymore.
"Steal him away?" Aurora laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Viv, he was always mine. You were just a distraction. He's not the man you think he is, you know? He never really wanted you, not like I wanted him."
Vivian's chest tightened with the growing sense of injustice. She wasn't going to let Aurora win. She wouldn't let this be the end. Not like this. Not after everything they had been through.
But Aurora was relentless. She pushed further, no longer trying to hide the venom in her voice.
"You think this was just about me and him?" Aurora scoffed, her words cutting deep. "I needed him, Viv. You want to know why I took that art gallery trip to Paris? You think I was going for some exhibition? Please. That was just a front. I was moving in with him, Viv. He didn't want to tell you because he knew you'd believe all that bullshit about business trips and work talks. You were too trusting, too loving. You never saw it."
Vivian froze. She hadn't expected that. Her heart slammed against her ribcage as the truth of those words tore through her. Moving in with him? That Paris trip... it had been about more than just a getaway. It had been the next step in their secret lives together. The one Vivian hadn't seen coming. All the while, she had been sitting at home, loving him, believing his lies. She had been nothing more than a fool.
Her breath caught in her throat. She felt dizzy, disoriented, as the enormity of the betrayal crashed over her like a wave. She had been nothing but a pawn in their game.
Aurora's words had the sharp sting of truth. She could feel the walls closing in around her. Everything was coming undone.
Aurora's voice, low and final, whispered into the silence. "I'm not sorry, Viv. I didn't want to hurt you, but this was always going to happen. You were too blind to see it. He was always mine, and I'll never apologize for that."
Vivian could hardly breathe. But the anger was bubbling up again. She was done. Done.
"I don't need your apology," Vivian muttered, her voice cold with finality. "But believe me, I won't forget any of this. I'll make sure neither of you ever forget what you've done."
The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening, but Vivian didn't care. She had said her piece. She had made it clear that she wouldn't be broken. Not like this. Not anymore.