The notification sound from Solrine's phone cut through the morning silence like a blade. Then another. And another.
She rolled over in bed, squinting at the screen. Fifty-seven missed calls. One hundred and twelve text messages. Her social media notifications had maxed out at 99+.
"What the hell?" she muttered, sitting up and running a hand through her dark hair.
The first message was from Nova: *Sol, call me NOW. Don't go online.*
Too late. Her finger was already swiping to the next text from Aria: *I'm coming over. DO NOT leave your apartment.*
Remi's message was shorter: *Shit hit the fan, babe.*
Solrine's stomach dropped. She opened her browser, typed her name, and watched her world explode in real time.
The video was everywhere. Her and David, six months ago in his apartment. Private. Intimate. Now plastered across every gossip site, social platform, and news outlet with headlines like "Socialite's Secret Tape Exposed" and "Cavaliere Scandal Rocks High Society."
"Motherfucker," she breathed.
Her phone rang. Mom.
"Solrine Marie Cavaliere, what is this madness I'm seeing online?"
"Good morning to you too, Mother."
"Don't you dare take that tone with me. Do you have any idea what this means for our family's reputation? For your career?"
Solrine walked to her kitchen, putting the phone on speaker as she made coffee. "It means people need to mind their own business."
"This is not a joke! The board members are already calling about your position at the gallery. Mrs. Henderson from the charity committee wants you removed from the spring gala planning—"
"Let her."
"Let her?" Her mother's voice pitched higher. "Solrine, you cannot be this cavalier about your future!"
The coffee machine hissed, drowning out another lecture about responsibility and family image. Solrine had heard it all before.
"I'm not going to apologize for having a sex life, Mother. I'm twenty-six years old."
"It's not about having a sex life! It's about having it broadcast to the entire world!"
A knock at her door interrupted them. Solrine peered through the peephole to see all three of her friends standing in the hallway with coffee and pastries.
"Mom, I have to go. My friends are here."
"We are not done discussing this, young lady."
"Yes, we are."
Solrine hung up and opened the door. Nova immediately wrapped her in a hug while Aria pushed past them with a bag of croissants.
"How bad is it?" Solrine asked, closing the door behind them.
"Scale of one to ten? Fifteen," Remi said, settling onto the couch with her laptop. "But the good news is, everyone will forget about it in two weeks when some other scandal breaks."
"That's not good news if I'm unemployed in two weeks," Solrine pointed out.
Aria set down the pastries and gave her a stern look. "This is serious, Sol. Have you thought about who could have done this? David wouldn't—"
"David absolutely would." Solrine poured herself coffee, her movements sharp with irritation. "Clingy little bastard has been trying to get me back for months. This is probably his twisted idea of keeping me tied to him."
"That doesn't make sense," Nova said quietly. "Why would he humiliate himself too?"
"Because he's desperate and stupid." Solrine shrugged. "Men do dumb shit when their egos get bruised."
Remi looked up from her laptop. "The comments are... not great."
"I don't care what people are saying."
"You should care," Aria insisted. "Your reputation—"
"My reputation was never pristine to begin with." Solrine sat across from them, cradling her mug. "I've been the 'bad girl' since I got my first tattoo at eighteen. This just gives them more ammunition for what they already thought."
"That's not true," Nova protested.
"Isn't it? I'm the friend with commitment issues. The one who changes jobs every two years. The one your mothers warn you about corrupting their precious daughters." Solrine's laugh held no humor. "At least now they have a reason."
The room fell silent. Outside, traffic hummed along the street, people going about their normal Tuesday morning routines while Solrine's life imploded in high definition.
"What are you going to do?" Aria asked finally.
Solrine took a long sip of her coffee and met each of their concerned gazes. "Nothing. I'm going to do absolutely nothing."
"Sol—"
"No, listen. I refuse to hide in shame over this. I had consensual sex with my boyfriend in the privacy of his apartment. Someone violated that privacy, and that's on them, not me." Her voice grew stronger with each word. "I'm not going to apologize or explain myself to anyone."
"Even if it costs you your job?" Nova asked softly.
"Especially then. Any employer who would fire me over my private life isn't worth working for anyway."
Remi closed her laptop. "I admire the principles, babe, but principles don't pay rent."
"I have savings. And if worst comes to worst, I'll find something else." Solrine stood up, pacing to the window. "I'm not going to let some coward with a revenge fantasy control my life."
Her phone buzzed with another call. Gallery director.
She declined it.
"You're really not going to answer?" Aria asked.
"Nope. If they want to fire me, they can do it properly. In person. With paperwork."
Another buzz. Unknown number.
"Reporter," Remi guessed, checking her own phone. "They're calling me too, trying to get quotes about you."
"Tell them I said to fuck off."
"Sol!" Nova gasped, but she was smiling.
"What? It's honest."
Despite everything, laughter bubbled up between them. For a moment, it felt almost normal—just four friends on a Tuesday morning, sharing coffee and gossip.
Her phone buzzed again—another unknown number. Then another.
"It'll die down," Solrine said, silencing her phone completely. "Give it two weeks, and everyone will move on to the next drama. You'll see."
She looked out the window at the ordinary Tuesday morning, people walking their dogs, joggers passing by, the world spinning on as usual.
"Two weeks," she repeated, more to herself than to her friends. "Then this whole mess will be yesterday's news."
What Solrine didn't know was that those two weeks of relative calm would be the eye of the hurricane—and the real storm was still coming.