Her Man, Her Best Friend

I sat at the city' s most expensive restaurant, waiting for Donovan, my fiancé, to celebrate his company' s massive success. We had built it together for five years.

He never showed up. Instead, I found an Instagram story from my best friend, Karmen, showing Donovan passed out on her sofa, shirtless, with her playfully covering her mouth. The caption read: "He works so hard! Had to make sure my favorite CEO got home safe ."

The man I was supposed to marry was with my best friend, again. When he finally stumbled home, he gave me a cheap smart home hub – the basic model Karmen had just thrown away. The next morning, Karmen was in his car, flaunting the expensive version. When I told her to get out, she smirked, "Make me."

Rage flared. I grabbed her arm, and she shrieked, throwing herself out of the car. Donovan rushed over, shoving me aside, and cradled her, glaring at me. "You've got some serious issues, attacking your own friend." He sped off, his back tire catching my leg, fracturing my fibula.

At the apartment, Karmen was lounging, eating peaches Donovan had peeled for her – peaches he' d always been too busy to get for me. Then I found my grandmother' s locket, her last gift, on Karmen' s dog' s collar, covered in teeth marks.

Donovan just stood there, disapproving of me. "Is that how you see it, too?" I asked. He said nothing. I clutched the ruined locket, wheeled myself out, and left without looking back.

Chapter 1

Hailey Brown sat at the best table in the city' s most expensive restaurant. She waited.

The product launch for Donovan Herrera' s tech company had been a massive success. She had been by his side for five years, since it was just an idea in his garage.

He never showed up.

At 2 AM, her phone buzzed. It was an Instagram story from her best friend, Karmen Hendricks. Karmen was an intern at Donovan' s company.

The video showed Donovan passed out on Karmen' s sofa. He was shirtless. Karmen was lying next to him, a hand playfully covering her mouth.

The caption read: "He works so hard! Had to make sure my favorite CEO got home safe ."

Hailey stared at the screen. The man she was supposed to marry was with her best friend. This wasn' t the first time he had been "too busy" for a big moment.

She looked at the perfectly arranged, untouched celebratory dinner. A cold emptiness filled her chest.

She scrolled through her contacts and found the name Jameson Carney. He was a landscape designer she' d worked with on a project. He had been kind and openly admired her work.

She typed a text: "That offer for a new start you mentioned... is it still on the table?"

Her phone rang almost immediately. Jameson' s voice was warm and filled with concern.

"Always. I'll pick you up in the morning. We're getting you out of there."

"Okay," she said. "In one week, let's do it."

She hung up and stood. She started packing. This apartment, holding five years of her life, now felt like a prison.

At 7 AM, Donovan stumbled through the door. He smelled of cheap alcohol. He saw the untouched dinner and pulled her into a hug, his voice thick with fake concern.

"Hailey, baby, you shouldn't have waited. When I'm grinding this hard, you gotta take care of yourself. It kills me to see you like this."

He kissed the top of her head.

"Happy launch day," he whispered. "Next week is the big tech conference. After that, it's just us. No more anniversaries of the company launch, just the anniversary of our engagement!"

"Yeah," she said, pulling his hands off her waist. "No more of those anniversaries."

Because soon, there would be nothing left between them. She would not marry a man who slept with her best friend the week he planned to propose.

He sensed her coldness and pulled a small box from his pocket.

"I got you something. A little launch-day bonus."

It was a generic, mass-produced smart home hub.

"Next year, it'll be a big diamond, I promise!"

She turned the device over in her hands. It was plastic and felt cheap. She remembered a post Karmen made a few days ago.

"OMG, the best boss ever got me the limited edition designer hub and threw in a little extra gadget! Anyone want the basic model? I have no use for this little thing!"

The picture had shown this exact device. The one Karmen kept was sleek, metallic, and expensive.

His gift to her was the freebie he gave his intern. After five years together, this was what he thought she was worth. Or maybe he was just that certain she would never leave.