Chapter 1

The sharp crash of glass against marble shattered the silence. Deep red wine splattered across the pristine floor, seeping into the cracks like spilled blood.

Sarah Winters stood frozen at the doorway, the taste of bile rising in her throat. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out the sounds of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

James, the man she had spent six years loving, was in bed with her best friend.

Chloe.

Together.

The scene was like something out of a twisted nightmare, one she couldn't wake up from. The silk sheets tangled around their bodies, Chloe’s hair spilling across the pillows, James’s bare torso exposed as he turned toward her, an unreadable expression on his face.

Sarah’s breath came in short, sharp gasps, her fingers curling so tightly around the doorframe that her knuckles turned white.

The air reeked of betrayal.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Chloe, her best friend, her supposed sister in everything but blood let out a soft, lazy chuckle. She didn’t scramble to cover herself, didn’t look the least bit remorseful. Instead, she stretched like a cat, completely unbothered.

“Wow, Sarah,” Chloe mused, tilting her head with a smirk.

“You really have terrible timing.”

Sarah blinked.

Terrible timing?

Her nails bit into her palm as something inside her snapped.

“Are you kidding me?” The words ripped from her throat, raw and furious. “I catch you screwing my fiancé, and that’s what you have to say?”

James finally sighed, rubbing his temple like she was an inconvenience. “Sarah, don’t be dramatic”

“Dramatic?” A bitter laugh tore out of her. “You’re naked in bed with my best friend, James! What the hell do you expect me to be?”

She turned to Chloe, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “And you… how long?”

Chloe didn’t even flinch. “Before the engagement.”

Sarah’s stomach twisted.

Before the engagement.

The weight of those words crashed over her, suffocating her.

She had spent months planning a future with James, picturing wedding vows and a lifetime together. And the whole time, he had been crawling into bed with her best friend.

She had been a fool.

James exhaled sharply, finally pushing himself up on the bed. “Look, Sarah, let’s not do this. What’s done is done.”

Sarah’s hands trembled, but she clenched them into fists. “What’s done is done?”

“Yeah.” His voice was cool, detached. “We both know this wasn’t going to last. I was just waiting for the right time to end things.”

Her chest ached so much it felt like she was being torn apart from the inside.

“And why is that, James?” she asked, voice dangerously low. “Why the hell would you propose to me if you had no intention of staying?”

Chloe rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically. “God, Sarah, do you really need it spelled out?”

James ran a hand through his hair, finally standing. His voice was void of any guilt when he spoke.

Sarah let out a sharp, bitter laugh, her hands trembling at her sides. Her voice cracked, but she didn't care. "I gave you everything. I loved you, and you threw me away like I was nothing."

James stepped closer, his expression void of remorse. "You are nothing, Sarah. You always have been."

Something inside her snapped.

"You don’t match my status, Sarah.”

The words sliced through her like a blade.

“You’re smart, sure, but let’s be real, you’re an orphan with nothing but a decent job. Chloe, on the other hand,” he glanced at the woman still lounging in his bed, “is from a family that actually matters.”

Silence.

The floor seemed to vanish beneath Sarah’s feet.

She had always known James came from wealth, and had always been aware that his family saw her as less. But she had thought he was different.

She had thought their love was enough.

She had been so stupid.

Something in her shattered.

Sarah let out a shaky breath and stepped forward. Then, with a swift, furious motion, she grabbed the nearest bottle of wine from the bar cart and hurled it against the wall.

The bottle exploded on impact, shards raining down like glittering daggers, deep red liquid dripping down the walls.

James took a startled step back, eyes widening.

Sarah didn’t care.

“You bastard,” she hissed, pointing a shaking finger at him. “You used me. You let me believe we had a future while you, while you—”

Her voice cracked, but she refused to break.

James scoffed, shaking his head. “Sarah, don’t be pathetic. This is why I never told you earlier, you get too emotional.”

“Too?” She sucked in a breath, rage and pain burning through her veins.

Everything, the years of love, the memories, the nights spent dreaming of a life with James, had been nothing but lies.

She had spent years giving James her love, her time, her devotion, only to be discarded like trash.

But no more.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the engagement ring on her finger. With one final glance at James, at the man she had once thought was her future, she ripped it off and threw it across the room.

The diamond landed with a sharp clink against the floor, rolling to a stop at James’s feet.

For the first time, his face flickered with something unreadable.

Sarah clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she forced herself to stand tall. She wouldn't let them see her break. Not now. Not ever.

She turned her gaze to Chloe, who was still smirking as if she'd won some twisted prize. "You can have him," Sarah said, her voice steadier now, laced with quiet fury. "I hope he betrays you the way he did me. And when he does, remember this moment."

Chloe's smirk faltered just slightly.

Sarah spun on her heel, her head held high, but as she reached the door, she paused, gripping the frame. Her voice was low but sharp as a blade.

"This isn't over."

Then she walked away, leaving behind the wreckage of what she once thought was her future.