CHAPTER ONE: A betrayal

Emma’s heart stopped when she opened the door to her apartment. There, on the couch, tangled together in a frenzy of limbs and heated whispers, were her fiancé, Ethan, and her best friend, Vanessa. She had just come back to pick up some items for their upcoming wedding.

“What the hell is going on here?” Emma’s voice cut through the air, sharp and piercing. The two sprang apart, scrambling for their clothes. Emma’s vision blurred with tears, but she managed to choke out a question.

“How long has this been going on?” Her voice was shaky, raw with emotion. She looked directly at Vanessa, but her friend turned away, unable to meet her gaze.

Ethan, with a harsh edge to his voice, snapped, “Why are you back so soon? You left just ten minutes ago.”

Emma’s fury boiled over. “That’s not the point! I walk in on you two groping each other and you have the nerve to ask why I’m back so soon?” Tears streamed down her face, her mascara smearing in dark streaks.

Vanessa finally looked up, her expression unrepentant. “I’m surprised it took you this long to catch us. We’ve been doing this under your nose for a while now.” Her words dripped with smug satisfaction.

Emma’s voice trembled with betrayal. “I opened my home to you because you needed help, and this is how you repay me?” She turned to Ethan, her voice rising. “And you! We were supposed to get married next week! How could you do this to me?”

Ethan remained silent, a look of bored indifference on his face. Desperate to leave their presence, Emma fled the apartment, the door slamming behind her.

Outside, the cold New York air hit her like a slap. She stumbled to a nearby bench and collapsed, her body racked with sobs. Strangers passed by, oblivious to her world crumbling around her.

After what felt like hours, Emma wiped her tears and steeled herself. She had to confront them, to reclaim some semblance of control. She marched back to the apartment, her resolve hardening with every step.

“I want you both out of my house. Now,” she demanded as she reentered.

Ethan laughed coldly. “You might have been paying the rent, but the lease is in my name. You’re the one who’s leaving.”

She couldn’t believe her ears, Ethan walked into their room and returned with some paperwork.

Emma’s heart sank as she looked at the lease documents. He was right. The paperwork clearly showed that he was the legal owner of the apartment.

She had put her faith in him when they moved in together, he offered to handle all the paperwork and just asked for her signature. At the time she thought it was cute but now she felt so stupid.

She continued to pay the rent because Ethan was unable to secure a stable job as a struggling artist in New York City and he went ahead to betray her in the worst way possible.

Emma looked at her best friend and in her cold eyes she could not find a hint of the girl who was once like a sister to her. They had been as close as sisters since high school and through college, so she was still having a hard time comprehending why she would do this to her.

“Why?” she asked in a low whisper. “You were like the sister I never had”

Vanessa’s words were the final blow. “You’re not and will never be my sister. Leave.”

With those final words, Emma dashed into the room and packed her belongings and left the apartment, her dreams of a future with Ethan shattered.

Emma wandered the streets of New York in a daze, the weight of betrayal pressing down on her. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. She was not ready to face her family with this devastating news because they had always been weary of Ethan.

She took a cab around the city till she found herself in front of a tiny, run-down apartment building and rented the smallest unit they had. It was barely big enough for her to turn around in, but it was all she could afford. She had been the one catering for most of the wedding expenses and trying to get a job to support Ethan’s dying career.

There was a stench coming from the roof, the finishing of the house looked run down and the kitchen was in a terrible state. She tried her best to settle in and contact some vendors from her wedding to cancel in hopes of getting a r****d.

Unfortunately, Ethan had already contacted them and got the refunds for himself, her heart broke further as she learned what he had done. She curled up on her uncomfortable bed and cried herself to sleep that night.

The next day Emma went back to the apartment, she realized she had left a few important things in her rush to leave. Her grandmother’s necklace, some documents and a few personal items. She took a cab and bit her fingers the entire ride there.

Upon her arrival she noticed that the lock had already been changed so she could not use her spare key. She rang the doorbell, hoping Ethan would answer so they could have a civil conversation about the refunds. Instead, Vanessa came to the front door, dressed scantily in a see-through robe.

“I need to get some of my things I left here.” She went straight to the point because she couldn’t stand to be in her presence.

Vanessa crossed her arms, a smirk forming on her face, “Ethan told me you’d be back. It’s pathetic really. He deserves someone better, you know, someone who can actually satisfy his needs.”

“Just let me get my things, Vanessa.” Emma said as her faced burned with anger and humiliation.

“You are not getting in. and as for your precious refunds, Ethan and I are keeping the money. Consider it compensation for all the trouble you caused”

Emma’s heart pounded. “I paid for the wedding, that is my money.”

“Not anymore, get lost.” With that, Vanessa slammed the door in her face.

Emma finally had the courage to call home on her way back from Ethan’s apartment. She dialed her brother's number, hoping for a shred of comfort.

"Hey, Emms, how's it going? Need something else for the wedding?" His cheerful tone broke her heart all over again.

"Ethan and I are done. He was cheating on me," she said, her voice cracking. She didn't mention Vanessa, knowing it would only complicate things, her family had known her since they were 18.

"I hate to say it, but I told you so. I always knew that guy was a bum when I heard he was a struggling artist.”

“You are a struggling artist yourself.” She retorted and rolled her eyes, this was why she hesitated to call him.

“I am still a college student. Anyway, you can't come home right now. We don't have the space," he said flatly.

"What do you mean? I have my old room," she replied, confusion and hurt mixing in her voice.

"Mom and Dad had to rent it out to some weird college kid to cover Dad's medical bills," he explained. Emma's heart dropped.

"What medical bills? What happened to Dad?" she asked urgently.

"He's got a condition. It runs in the family. It's manageable, but it costs a lot. We're tight on money, and I don't think we can afford my tuition and art program either" he rambled, making it clear he was more concerned about himself.

Emma felt like the world was closing in on her. She had lost her fiancé, her best friend, her home, and now even her family was in crisis. She barely noticed the traffic light change as she stepped into the street, her brother's voice droning on in her ear.

The blare of a car horn jolted her out of her thoughts, but it was too late. She turned just in time to see the car bearing down on her.

Pain exploded through her body as she hit the ground. The world spun, her brother's panicked voice shouting her name through the phone. Everything faded to black.