Forever and Always | Max Verstappen *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Jealousy Jealousy

Note : short chap😭😭

Paris 2nd June 2019
Liv sat alone in the dim corner of a worn-out pub, the kind they used to visit together when life felt simpler, back when Emma was just another aspiring journalist and Liv still believed she had time to figure things out.

The noise of clinking glasses and distant laughter echoed in her ears, but it didn't drown out the thoughts racing through her mind.

Emma had always been better.

At first, Liv brushed it off as coincidence. Emma landed the best internships?

Coincidence.

Emma got called back for second interviews while Liv didn't?

Coincidence.

But now?

It wasn't coincidence. It was a pattern, a reality Liv could no longer ignore.

Her phone buzzed on the table, another notification about Emma.

This time, it was a press release about Emma's latest feature for a top publication.

Liv didn't open it. She couldn't.

Instead, she locked her phone and stared at the scratched wooden table in front of her, her drink half-empty.

Memories of their shared dreams played on repeat in her head.

They'd spent late nights in their tiny apartments, talking about what they'd do when they made it big. But now, Emma wasn't just talking about making it; she was doing it.

And Liv? Liv was drowning.

She had been stuck freelancing for months, pitching stories no one wanted, barely scraping by.

The rejection emails piled up, each one a punch to her already fragile ego.

Her apartment was a mess, her savings were nonexistent.

It wasn't fair. Emma wasn't just succeeding; she was thriving.

She was glowing.

She was leaving Liv behind, and Liv hated how much that realization burned.

She wasn't proud of the jealousy, but it consumed her. It was all she could think about.

The scariest part? Liv wasn't just jealous.

She was bitter.

And worst of all, Liv didn't know if she could stop it.

Liv sat at the bar nursing her drink, trying to drown out the noise in her head.

Her phone lit up with another notification about Emma.

"Liv," a voice drawled beside her.

She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Dylan slid onto the high stool next to her, radiating his usual self-assured smirk.

"Dylan," she muttered without looking at him.

"So," he started, "I'm assuming you can't talk to me. Best friend code and all?"

Liv finally turned to him.

She never liked Dylan—never trusted him, not even when he and Emma were together.

There was something slippery about him, like he was always waiting to twist your words into something else.

"No," she said curtly. "I can't."

"Fair enough." He flagged the bartender, ordering a drink. "But wow, she's doing really well, isn't she?" He nodded toward her phone, which still displayed the latest article about Emma.