Then came that New Year's Eve. Jeffrey was in low spirits—his business had hit a rough patch.
I gathered a big group of his friends and organized a party.
As the countdown began, I finally saw a hint of relief break through on his face.
"...Three, two, one—zero!"
The moment the fireworks exploded, my smiling eyes went wide with shock.
Laura had grabbed his tie and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
The cheering and noise around me went mute. The heart pounding in my chest simply... stopped.
Then came the endless fall.
The woman met my gaze, gave a playful wink, then kissed my cheek too, completely unfazed.
"Jill! Happy New Year!"
My lips moved, but no words came out.
A friend's joke from not long ago surfaced in my mind.
"Jill, I don't know what you're thinking, but honestly? It kind of seems like your boyfriend's fallen in love again."
"I saw them at a bar the other night—they were practically glued together."
...
The rumors had never stopped. And I'd never believed them.
But looking at the smile on his face, I wasn't sure anymore.
I became paranoid. Suspicious.
I started showing up at every gathering, watching their every interaction.
I'd probe his friends for their opinions, studied those relationship advice posts online to figure out whether what they had was really "just friendship."
Until one night, I crept out of bed, grabbed his phone, and went through every app.
The moment I turned off the screen, I saw his eyes—wide open in the darkness.
In my panic, I accidentally called Laura.
The call connected almost instantly. Her voice was thick with a coyness I'd never heard before.
"Jeffrey? Did you actually put a tracker in my brain? I was just lying here thinking about you, and you called. What, don't tell me you were thinking about me too—"
"Laura." My voice cut through. "Have you no shame?"
Silence on the other end. Before I could say another word—
Jeffrey snatched the phone from my hand.
"Jill, that's enough. Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough these past few weeks?"
Looking at the anger on his face, my eyes stung with tears.
"I'm embarrassing?"
"One of you is my boyfriend, the other is my best friend—and you two have been flaunting your little 'bond' in front of everyone behind my back. How is that not embarrassing?"