The café was bustling, the usual mix of students and professionals coming and going, but to Alessia, it felt like the world was moving in slow motion. She sat by the window, her fingers drumming nervously against the table, watching the door every few seconds, waiting for Emily to arrive. Her heart pounded in her chest, the anxiety building with every minute that passed.
When Emily finally walked in, Alessia's stomach twisted. She looked the same as always—bright-eyed, smiling, dressed in her favorite oversized sweater and skinny jeans. She waved as she approached, but Alessia didn't return the gesture. There was a knot of anger sitting deep inside her, and it tightened with every step Emily took.
As Emily slid into the seat across from her, Alessia could feel the tension crackling between them, though Emily seemed oblivious. She set her bag down and smiled, leaning in as though this was just another casual catch-up between best friends.
“Hey, you look stressed,” Emily said, her voice light, unaware of the storm brewing across from her. “Is everything okay?”
Alessia couldn’t hold it in any longer. The words burned in her throat, demanding to be released. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, slamming it onto the table. The message thread between Emily and Josh was already open, glaring up at both of them like an accusation.
“Explain this,” Alessia said, her voice low and dangerous.
Emily’s eyes flickered to the phone, confusion crossing her face for a brief second before recognition dawned. Her expression shifted, her smile faltering as the color drained from her cheeks. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. For a moment, the only sound between them was the distant clatter of cups and the soft murmur of the café’s other patrons. Alessia could see Emily scrambling to come up with something—some excuse, some explanation—but none came.
“How long?” Alessia pressed, leaning forward, her voice sharp with the fury she had been trying to hold back since discovering the texts. “How long have you been screwing him behind my back?”
Emily swallowed hard, her hands clasped tightly in her lap as she avoided Alessia’s gaze. “It’s not what you think,” she finally whispered.
“Then what is it?” Alessia snapped, her voice louder now. She could feel the eyes of nearby tables turning toward them, but she didn’t care. Let them watch. Let them see this mess unfold. “Tell me, Emily, because from where I’m sitting, it looks pretty damn clear.”
Emily’s lips trembled, and she finally lifted her head to meet Alessia’s stare. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just... it just did.”
“That’s not an answer,” Alessia growled, her fists clenching under the table. “How long, Emily?”
The silence between them stretched, heavy and suffocating. Then, finally, Emily exhaled, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
“A little over a year,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the background noise.
The words hit Alessia like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. A year. An entire year of lies. She had shared everything with Emily—her deepest fears, her secrets, her love for Josh—and all that time, Emily had been sleeping with him. Behind her back. For a whole damn year.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Alessia asked, her voice trembling with barely contained rage.
Emily hesitated, her eyes filling with tears, but then she nodded. “Yes. I’m in love with him.”
The admission sent a white-hot fury surging through Alessia’s veins. She had expected lies, excuses, some pathetic justification for what Emily had done—but not this. Not love. Her best friend was in love with her boyfriend. The boyfriend she had sacrificed so much for. The boyfriend she had trusted with her heart.
Without thinking, Alessia grabbed her phone again, her fingers moving faster than her thoughts. She scrolled back to the damning messages, took a screenshot, and uploaded it to Facebook. Her heart hammered in her chest as she typed out the caption in a blur of anger:
“Ladies and gentlemen, meet Emily—the best friend who sleeps with your boyfriend behind your back. Homewrecker doesn’t even begin to describe her.”
Her thumb hovered over the "post" button for only a second before she pressed it, sending the post out into the world for everyone to see. There was no taking it back now.
“Alessia, what are you doing?” Emily’s voice was panicked now, her eyes wide as she tried to snatch the phone from her hands. But Alessia yanked it away, her fury giving her strength.
“I’m done playing nice,” Alessia spat, her voice filled with venom. “You think you can screw around with my life like this? Behind my back? For a year?” She laughed bitterly, the sound cold and hollow. “No. You don’t get to walk away from this without consequences.”
Emily’s face went pale, her eyes flicking between Alessia and the phone as the gravity of what just happened began to sink in. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. What could she say? The truth was out now. Everyone would see her for what she really was.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Emily whispered, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her face. “Please, Alessia, don’t—”
“Don’t what?” Alessia cut her off, her voice rising. “Don’t tell the truth? Don’t show everyone who you really are?” She stood up from the table, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I trusted you, Emily. I trusted both of you. And this is how you repay me?”
Emily looked up at her, her face streaked with tears, but Alessia felt no sympathy. Not anymore. She was too hurt, too angry, too betrayed to care about the tears of the woman who had destroyed her life.
“You want Josh?” Alessia hissed, her hands shaking with rage. “Fine. You can have him. But don’t think for a second that I’m going to let you walk away without everyone knowing exactly what you did.”
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the café, leaving Emily sitting alone at the table, a mess of tears and guilt. The weight of betrayal still pressed heavily on Alessia’s chest, but as she walked into the cool evening air, there was a grim satisfaction in knowing that Emily’s secret was out. She had been exposed for what she truly was, and there was no hiding from it now.
As Alessia disappeared into the crowd outside, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She didn’t even need to check to know that the post was already spreading. She could almost feel the ripple effect it would cause—friends, acquaintances, strangers, all seeing Emily for the snake she truly was.
But even as Alessia left the café, her anger still burning bright, one thought kept gnawing at the back of her mind: Josh.
What would he say when he found out what she had done?
YOU ARE READING
A Blissful Lie
Romance"A Blissful Lie" follows the tumultuous journey of Alessia Roberts, a 24-year-old university student living in a society where polygamy is accepted and her relationship with Joshua, a successful and charismatic man, is deemed normal despite him havi...
