My best friend is a chronic romantic—the kind of girl who would willingly set her own life on fire if she thought the sparks would warm a man.

On a night when the sky opened up and poured a biblical deluge over the city, she decided to drive four hundred miles just to apologize to her boyfriend after a stupid fight.

I tried to stop her. "Just wait until the storm passes," I told her, my hand on her car door. "He'll still be there tomorrow." But she wouldn't listen.

She shook her head, her eyes bloodshot and swollen. "You don't understand, Hannah. He broke up with me.

I have to go fix this." On the other end of the line, her phone was on speaker.

Her boyfriend's voice cut through the static of the rain, heavy with irritation: "Stop wasting your breath, Hannah. You can't talk sense into a girl like her. You're not her mother.

Why do you even care?" Serena went pale, but she put the car in drive anyway. She left me standing in the pouring rain. I couldn't just let her go.

I got into my own car and followed her. By the time I caught up, the storm had flooded the lowlying roads. Serena's car was stalled, the engine drowned in muddy water.

But she wasn't alone. A man was holding her, pulling her against his chest, murmuring hushed words of comfort into her hair. I had never met Serena's boyfriend.

To me, he was just the mysterious, longterm crush she had finally managed to win over. I opened my car door, stepping into the ankledeep water, preparing to help them.

But then, the man looked up. My breath caught in my throat. The world went perfectly, terrifyingly still. It was Jack. My boyfriend of six years.

The man she had driven through a hurricane to save was the man who slept in my bed every night. … Jack must have felt the weight of my stare. His eyes snapped toward me.

When he recognized me, his pupils contracted into tiny points of shock. But it lasted only a fraction of a second.

He looked away, whispered something in Serena's ear, and scooped her up into his arms. Without looking back at me, he carried her into the house.

Two minutes later, my phone vibrated. A text from Jack: "Go home." No punctuation. Just raw panic disguised as an order.

My jeans were soaked through, sticking to my skin with an icy, biting grip.

Before I could even think of a response, another text popped up: "Don't ask her anything." By "her," he meant Serena. I stared at those two messages until the screen went dark.

The storm raged around me, but inside my car, there was only a suffocating silence. In his moment of panic, his first instinct wasn't to apologize to me. It was to protect her.

I hadn't said a word, yet I was already the villain threatening their peace. When I didn't reply, he called. I answered, pressing the cold glass to my ear. "Hannah, go home first.

We’ll talk when I get back," Jack's voice was a low, hurried whisper. He let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't mean to keep this from you. I just...

I didn't know how to tell you." I didn't argue. I didn't cry. I just asked, "How long?" The silence stretched over the line, heavy and suffocating.

Finally, he spoke. "Six months." Six months. Exactly when Serena had told me she’d finally started dating the love of her life. I had bought her champagne.

I had listened to her gush about how perfect he was, feeling a warm, stupid happiness for my best friend of fifteen years. Did they ever feel a shred of guilt?

When they lay together, did my face ever cross their minds? "I have to go," Jack murmured.

In the background, I heard Serena's voice, soft and domestic: "Jack, where did you put the fresh towels?" He hung up before I could answer.

With my car engine ruined by the floodwaters, I had to tow it and check into a cheap motel around the corner from his place.

I sat on the edge of the stiff mattress, staring at the peeling wallpaper, and opened Instagram.

Serena had just posted. "Back in his arms~ He acts so tough about breaking up, but he's just a big softie. Stubborn boy." Underneath was a photo of their fingers locked together.

I stared at it for a long time. Then, I tapped the heart. Almost instantly, a message from her popped up. "Hannah!

We made up, you don't have to worry about me anymore~" The air in my chest felt tight, like breathing glass. I typed out a reply: "Good. I'm glad.

I hope you two are very happy together." The next day, I made my way back to our apartment. Jack called me. "Did you make it back?" "Yes," I whispered.

I heard him exhale on the other end, his posture relaxing even through the phone. "I think I'm going to stay here for a couple more days." It wasn't a request.

It was an executive decision. "Are you staying to be with her?" I asked. Now that the secret was out, he didn't even bother to lie.

He didn't have to waste energy fabricating business trips anymore. "Yeah. She wants to watch the sunrise tomorrow.

I promised I'd take her," Jack said, his tone casual, almost dismissive. "There's nothing pressing at the office anyway, so I'm not in a rush to get back." My eyelids trembled.

Two months ago, I had planned a weekend trip for us to hike up the mountain and watch the sunrise. I remembered his exact words: "It's such a waste of energy, Hannah.

We can watch a sunrise from the balcony. You should just stay home and rest." He had made me feel foolish for wanting something so simple. But for her, he was willing to lose sleep.

I hung up and looked at the little ceramic magnet on our refrigerator. Jack had brought it back from a trip.

When Serena saw it, she had laughed and said, "Oh, that's the freebie they gave me when I bought my new designer bracelet." I pulled out my phone and searched the brand.

It was indeed a complimentary gift. He had given her the gold bracelet and brought me the leftover cardboard packaging.

A dry, bitter laugh escaped my throat, followed by a sudden, hot sting behind my eyes. I never would have guessed. Serena had always acted like she despised him.

When we first met, she scoffed when Jack declined a drink. "Are you even a man?

Who can't handle a single beer?" When we fought, she would scream at him on my behalf, dragging me out of the apartment.

On his birthday, when he forgot to get me a gift, she rolled her eyes and told me he didn't deserve me. And Jack hated her right back.

He complained about her constantly. "She's too loud, Hannah. She has no boundaries. She's always in our business." It was all a performance.

A carefully constructed wall to hide the rot underneath. I took the magnet off the fridge and threw it into the trash can.

If it was just a throwaway promo, there was no point in keeping it. For the next two days, their social media accounts were a constant stream of updates.

Dinners, movies, scenic overlooks. Different angles, but always the same shadows. When I looked back at their older posts, the puzzle pieces finally clicked.

His business trips always lined up perfectly with her weekend getaways. I was about to lock my phone when Serena FaceTime's me.

As soon as I accepted, her smiling face filled the screen. "Hannah!

Did you miss me?" She flipped the camera to show Jack driving, then flipped it back. "Jack's trip is finally over, so I'm hitching a ride back with him. You don't mind, do you?

I bought you a little souvenir! Are you going to cry tears of joy?" I stared at her bright, flawless smile.

It felt entirely hollow. "Is it really just a ride, Serena?" Her smile faltered.

A brief, ugly shadow of guilt crossed her face, but she quickly recovered, laughing it off. "Of course! What's with you tonight? You're acting so weird." "Nothing.

I just wanted to ask you—" Jack's hand reached over and cut the call from his side. "We'll talk when we get back.

Hang up." Before the screen went black, Serena rolled her eyes. "Look at your boyfriend, Hannah. So stingy. He won't even let us talk.

See you soon!" I stared at the black reflection of my phone. It wasn't about being stingy. Jack just didn't want me asking questions he couldn't answer.

At eleven that night, the front door clicked open. Jack walked in and stopped when he saw me sitting in the dim light of the living room.

He kicked off his shoes, shedding his jacket as he walked toward me. "Why are you still awake?" He held out a bag. "Serena got this for you.

She knows you like those collectible blind boxes. She went to three stores to find it." I didn't move. My eyes stayed glued to the bag. Serena knew me.

She knew my favorite foods, my passing obsessions. But this wasn't a gift. It was hush money.

A cheap token to ease a guilty conscience. "Throw it away," I said quietly. "I don't want it." Jack's hand tensed.

He set the bag on the coffee table. "She was just trying to do something nice." "Jack, I'm waiting for an explanation." Five years of living together.

I deserved at least that much before I let it all burn. Jack stood there, silent. "Hannah, I am so sorry.

This is on me." I waited. "Serena is hurting too," he said softly. "She doesn't want to lose you as a friend, but she... she didn't want to lose me either.

She really cares about you." A dry laugh bubbled up in my throat. "She cares about me?

Is that why she's sleeping with my boyfriend?" "If I hadn't followed her, how long were you going to keep this going?" Jack looked down. "We were going to end it.

Just... not like this. Hannah, just give me a little time..." The electronic lock on our front door chimed. Serena pushed the door open.

Her eyes were red, her face streaked with tears. "Don't blame him, Hannah. It's my fault." "I was just so lonely, and I went to him. He didn't want to, but I forced him.

Hannah, I never wanted to betray you, but seeing you two together... it was killing me." I looked at her. Normally, I would have rushed to wipe her tears.

Now, I felt nothing but a cold, hollow disgust. "So you took him," my voice trembled, but I kept it steady. "You're a homewrecker, Serena." Her face drained of color.

Jack immediately pulled her into his side, his expression hardening. "Hannah, that's enough.

Do you think this is easy for her?" I looked at them standing together, presenting a united front against me.

I was the victim of their betrayal, yet somehow, I had become the villain. "We wanted to tell you," Serena sobbed. "We were only supposed to be together for a month.

But I got greedy..." "Stop it, Hannah," Jack snapped, his glare fixing on me. "She's already devastated.

What else do you want from her?" He looked at her, then back at me. "I'm going to take her home.

We'll talk when I get back." He guided her out of the apartment, leaving me alone in the dark. At two in the morning, the door opened again. I hadn't moved from the sofa.

I looked at his tired face and felt a strange, sudden wash of peace. "Jack, let's break up." He frowned. "Don't say things you don't mean, Hannah." "I'm just staying with her temporarily until she's emotionally stable.

Once she's better, I'll end it with her." "Temporarily?" I echoed. "Do you actually think that makes it okay?" He looked away, unable to meet my eyes. "Serena looks tough, but she's fragile.

You know how sensitive she is. Please, don't push her over the edge.

I'll handle this when the time is right." He spoke with such noble conviction, as if he were a martyr instead of a cheater.

I stared at him, realizing I didn't know this man at all. "So you want to have us both?" I asked. He didn't answer. His silence was an admission. "Hannah, please.

Just give me some time." I let out a slow, tired breath. "You don't need to end anything with her, Jack.

We're done." His face darkened with annoyance. "Hannah, do you really have to blow everything up like this?" "Yes," I said softly. "I do." I stood up, walked into the guest room, and locked the door.

The next morning, Jack knocked on my door to tell me he was going over to Serena's because she was panicking. I didn't answer. Once I heard the front door close, I got to work.

I thought five years of living together would take days to pack. But when I actually started sorting through my life, it fit neatly into two suitcases.

I left my spare key on the kitchen island. Before I walked out, I looked around the apartment one last time. The wool rug we bought because my feet got cold in the winter.

The oversized sofa we picked out together. Every corner had a memory. But those memories didn't belong to me anymore.

I pulled my suitcase behind me, stepped into the hallway, and let the door click shut.