Lily sat cross-legged on Lana's couch, watching her best friend pace back and forth with a look that was both fierce and frightening.
Lana's eyes, usually soft and warm, had a sharp glint tonight.
> "You're serious about this?" Lily finally asked, breaking the silence.
> "Dead serious," Lana replied, her tone calm but heavy. "They thought they could walk all over me. But I'm not their doormat anymore."
Lily frowned. "So what's the plan, then? Throw coffee at Chloe at the café?"
Lana laughed — a low, humorless laugh.
> "No. That's too easy. I want her to feel it — slowly."
She sat beside Lily and lowered her voice.
> "Chloe's dating someone new. I saw her with him last week — his name's Leo Ayden."
Lily's brows furrowed. "Ayden? The CEO's son? Are you out of your mind, Lana? He's… that's a dangerous game."
> "Maybe," Lana said, smirking. "But isn't revenge supposed to be dangerous?"
Lily shook her head, torn between concern and curiosity.
> "You're planning to steal Chloe's new boyfriend?"
> "No," Lana corrected softly. "I'm planning to make him fall in love with me."
For a moment, silence filled the room. Then Lily groaned, throwing a cushion at her.
> "This is crazy! What if you fall for him first?"
Lana caught the cushion and hugged it to her chest, staring at the floor.
> "That won't happen," she whispered. "I've already learned what love costs."
But the way her voice trembled said otherwise.
Lily sighed, defeated but loyal as always.
> "Fine. But I'm helping you. If you're going down, I'm going with you."
Lana looked up, a small smile tugging at her lips.
> "Thanks, Lil. I'll need you more than ever."
As Lily left later that night, Lana stood by the window again. The city shimmered in the dark — beautiful, cold, unforgiving.
> "Let's see how you like heartbreak, Chloe," she whispered. "Because this time, I'll be the one holding the cards."
And somewhere across the city, Leo Ayden — the man she would soon use to destroy her enemy — had no idea that fate had just made him part of a dangerous game.