The music hummed softly through the Harper residence, Rose felt every note as a subtle accusation. Every laugh seemed too loud, every compliment too rehearsed. She stood near the grand staircase, adjusting the strap of her champagne-colored dress for the fifth time, and tried to remind herself to breathe.
Her friends were gathered around Jason, praising him in tones that dripped with admiration.
"Jason, you're incredible," one of his colleagues gushed, shaking his hand. "I don't know how Rose managed to snag you."
Rose's stomach knotted. The words, meant to flatter, landed like tiny knives. She forced a polite smile, nodding in agreement as though she were just a spectator, not someone whose life and happiness were being discussed so casually.
"Indeed," another friend said, glancing at her. "Seven years and counting. Jason, you've done well for yourself."
Rose's throat tightened. She let her eyes sweep the room, trying to anchor herself. That's when she saw it.
Lila.
Her so-called best friend leaned casually against a gilded pillar, a glass of champagne in one hand. Her other hand brushed lightly against Jason's arm as they laughed at something he said. Rose's heart skipped, not from admiration, but from a sudden, sharp flicker of unease.
Something about the way Lila tilted her head, the subtle smirk that crossed her lips, didn't sit right. It was a small, almost imperceptible movement, but Rose noticed. She narrowed her eyes just slightly, pretending to sip her drink while her mind raced.
Why does it feel like she's in on something I don't know?
Jason, oblivious to Rose's scrutiny, continued boasting about a recent business deal. His voice was smooth, confident, the kind of voice that commanded attention and made people lean in. He was animated, gesturing grandly with one hand while holding a glass in the other.
"And that's how we managed to secure the Westfield account," he said, laughing. "Honestly, I didn't even think it was possible, but here we are, crushing it as usual."
The crowd clapped politely. Rose tried to clap along, but her mind was elsewhere. Then she saw it again, the smirk on Lila's face.
Rose's chest tightened. The warmth in her stomach that had always been reserved for excitement or happiness twisted into something sour. She had trusted Lila for years, confided in her, shared secrets and fears, and yet now, something felt… off.
Lila caught her gaze for a fraction of a second. She smiled...sweet, innocent, but the kind of smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Rose swallowed hard, trying to push down the rising panic. Am I imagining this?
She turned slightly, brushing past a group of guests, pretending to adjust her bracelet. Every laugh, every glance in the room felt amplified, her senses on high alert. She caught snippets of conversation around her.
"Jason, you always know the right move," someone said.
"Yeah, I don't know how Rose puts up with all of it," another voice added, with a chuckle that made Rose's blood run cold. She froze mid-step. The words were light, casual but the tone was heavy with implication.
Rose's stomach lurched. She scanned the room, spotting Lila again. The smirk had disappeared, replaced with a perfectly neutral expression, but Rose could still see it in her eyes: that tiny glint of amusement, the shadow of a secret.
Rose took a deep breath, telling herself to stay calm. Maybe I'm overreacting.
She sipped her champagne, letting the cool liquid soothe her nerves, but the unease refused to subside. Every laugh that escaped Lila, every glance she shared with Jason, seemed to underline something unspoken. Rose's heart hammered against her ribs.
Suddenly, Jason's voice cut through the room, loud and commanding.
"Everyone, may I have your attention?" He raised his glass. "I just want to say how thrilled I am tonight, not only because of this wonderful gathering but because of the amazing woman standing by my side."
Rose's heart stuttered. She turned to him, trying to force a smile. His eyes scanned the room, then lingered on her. For a moment, it felt as though the warm glow of attention might wash away her unease.
Then came the subtle jab.
"…Even though, as we all know, she's been… let's say… on the heavier side for a few years."
Laughter rippled through the room. Polite, controlled, but enough to sting. Rose froze, glass halfway to her lips. Her smile faltered.
She felt it immediately: the weight of every cutting remark Jason had ever made, every sly comment about her appearance, every casual dig that had chipped away at her self-esteem over the years. And worse, she felt the warmth in the room shift, not toward her, but toward the pair at the center of the joke: Jason and Lila.
Rose's chest tightened again. She could feel her face flush, her hands trembling slightly. The laughter around her seemed to echo cruelly, emphasizing her humiliation.
Lila, as expected, was laughing too. But this time, Rose noticed something sharper in the edges of her smile. That small, almost imperceptible smirk returned. The one that said more than amusement, it said triumph.
Rose's stomach dropped. Something in her gut screamed that she was seeing the truth for the first time. Lila wasn't just enjoying the moment; she was complicit.
Rose forced herself to look away, scanning the room for support. Most of her friends were smiling politely, nodding along, unaware or pretending not to notice the subtle venom in the joke. No one met her eyes, and the weight of isolation pressed down on her.
Her hands clenched around the stem of her glass. She had trusted Lila for years. Shared everything. The thought that this woman, her confidante, might be aligned with the person she had loved and sacrificed for, the person who was supposed to love her back was unbearable.
Rose's chest tightened again. The laughter, the whispers, the soft clinks of glasses… it all seemed to blur into a single, overwhelming sensation of betrayal.
She turned toward the staircase, thinking maybe stepping outside for air might calm her racing mind. That's when she caught the briefest glance of Lila leaning toward Jason, her lips close enough that Rose could almost imagine them brushing his ear as they exchanged words.
Rose froze.
Her heart slammed against her ribcage. Something cold and heavy settled in her stomach. She could no longer ignore it, the whispers, the smirk, the intimacy, the glares she couldn't explain.
Lila had changed. Or maybe she had always been like this, and Rose had been too blind to see it.
Rose's mind raced. What… what are they planning?
She turned her gaze back to Jason, who was laughing, entirely unaware of the storm building in the woman standing beside him. But Rose couldn't laugh. Couldn't smile. Couldn't breathe without the weight of suspicion pressing down on her.
Her vision narrowed on the two of them. Lila's hand lingered just a second too long on Jason's arm. Jason looked at her with a familiarity that had once been reserved for Rose.
Rose felt something in her chest crack. Pain, disbelief, and a quiet, growing rage. She realized that tonight, her world, the one she had known for seven years was shifting, irreversibly.
She wanted to flee. To run. To disappear and never look back.
But before she could move, Lila's eyes met hers across the room. That smirk again, small and calculated, and Rose saw it clearly this time: it wasn't just amusement. It was anticipation.
Her stomach dropped.
Something is happening. Something I cannot ignore…
Rose's heart pounded as she realized: Lila wasn't just smiling, she was in on it. And whatever Jason and Lila were planning, Rose had no idea how far it went.