chapter 1

“Let go of what was and hold on to what will be.”

That’s what I kept telling myself, again and again, a desperate mantra I clung to in hopes that it would keep me sane. But in that moment, none of it seemed to matter, because all I could focus on was the sound of the phone ringing endlessly without anyone picking up.

“Come on, Amanda. Pick up your damn phone,” I muttered under my breath, frustration beginning to claw at the edge of my voice as I stared down at the screen. It lit up, rang, and dimmed again, only to go to voicemail for the fourth time.

I had already called my cousin more times than I cared to count, and each time, the silence on the other end only intensified the unease building in my chest.

“She’s probably busy being a witch,” I hissed bitterly, tossing my phone onto the passenger seat. My fingers drummed impatiently on the steering wheel as I let out a long, exhausted sigh.

I had planned this visit, hoping Amanda would help me prepare a small surprise for Rafael, something sweet, something thoughtful, something romantic, something to remind him how much I loved him.

God, how stupid can I be?

I didn’t know it yet, but the universe was about to throw me into a nightmare I wouldn’t be able to wake up from.

“Ugh… whatever. I’ll just head over there myself,” I muttered, shoving the doubt away as I grabbed my bag, stepped out of the car, and made my way up to Amanda’s front door.

I forced a smile onto my face, the kind of smile I’d perfected when I wanted everything to seem fine and let myself in.

“Cous?” I called out cheerfully as I stepped inside, the familiar scent of vanilla candles and polished wood wafting gently through the air.

But something felt off.

The silence that met me wasn’t comforting, it was heavy. Eerie.

I paused when, instead of Amanda, I was greeted by the housekeeper, Mrs. Pers whose nervous smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Where’s Amanda?” I asked as I slipped off my hoodie, still dressed in my nurse uniform. My badge dangled from my collar like a cruel reminder that I spent my days learning how to save lives, yet somehow missed that mine was unraveling behind my back.

“You must’ve come straight from school, Lexie,” she said gently. “Come, I’ll fix you something to eat-”

“No, thank you. Where is Amanda?” I cut in.

Her smile faltered. Her eyes flickered upstairs. That was all I needed.

I didn’t wait for another word. Something ugly twisted in my gut, and I wasn’t about to ignore it. My feet carried me up the stairs before my mind had the chance to catch up.

“Amanda?” I called again, knocking once, twice, but my hand stilled when I heard it.

A man’s voice drifted through the door, familiar, too familiar, carrying with it a sense of belonging that twisted in my chest like a knife. I pressed my ear closer, compelled by some sick, impossible curiosity, and that’s when the sounds reached me. Moans, low and unrestrained, desperate yet intimate, vibrating in a cadence that made my stomach lurch. Male and female voices intertwined in a cruel, shameless symphony of betrayal, echoing across the walls and slamming into my heart with the force of a hammer.

My breath caught, strangled by disbelief, as the room seemed to tilt around me. No. It couldn’t be. But the voice… I knew it. Knew both of them. The recognition was sharp, merciless, like ice slicing through my veins, and bile rose unbidden to my throat. My chest tightened so violently I could hardly breathe, and yet my body moved of its own accord, propelled by a force I didn’t recognize, a mixture of horror and rage.

I shoved the door open, the wood screaming in protest beneath my trembling hands, and instantly wished I had stayed frozen in my doorway. Time seemed to fracture, each second stretching into an eternity as the scene unfolded before me. Amanda. And Rafael. Naked, tangled, sweat gleaming on their skin, bodies entwined in a way that made my stomach twist with nausea and grief. My cousin. My fiancé. Two people I had loved, trusted, built dreams around, reduced in an instant to a betrayal so raw it burned beneath my eyes and lodged in my throat.

My hand flew to my mouth, desperate to choke back the scream clawing at my lungs, while the world spun and tilted around me, refusing to stop. They jolted upright, eyes wide, shock and guilt painting their faces like children caught in some trivial lie, but this was no fleeting mistake, no impulsive misstep to be laughed off later. This was the shattering of my life, the crumbling of everything I had believed to be sacred, the tearing of my heart into pieces I didn’t think I could survive.

I stood there, frozen, numb, watching as the reality of their actions settled over me like a storm, and in that moment I realized nothing would ever be the same again.

My f*cking fiancé.

“You stupid motherf*ckers.”

The words came out low and venomous, each syllable sharp enough to slice skin.

They flinched.

“B-babe?” Rafael stammered.

“L-Lexie?” Amanda’s voice cracked.

They scrambled pathetically, grabbing for sheets and clothes, guilt written all over their faces.

“You disgusting pigs,” I spat, the words like poison. My jaw clenched so tightly, I could feel the tension aching through my skull. Amanda fumbled for the blanket. Rafael reached for his pants.

I wanted to claw their eyes out.

“Cous, please, l-let me explain-” Amanda started.

“I have so much I want to say to you both,” I cut her off, my voice trembling with barely restrained rage, “but I don’t even know where to begin. I hate you right now, Amanda. So much that even hearing you call me ‘cous’ makes my skin crawl.”

Rafael reached for me, as if he had the right.

“Don’t even think about coming near me, Rafael,” I snapped, stepping back. “God help me, I swear I’d dissect you alive without anesthesia.”

“Lexie, babe, please- just let me explain-”

“Explain what?” I screamed, the tears already burning behind my eyes. “That you’ve been screwing my cousin behind my back? That you’ve been lying to my face while I was planning a goddamn surprise for you?!”

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t stand there a second longer.

So I ran.

I didn’t stop when they called my name. I didn’t turn back. I stormed down the stairs and out of that house of betrayal.

“Don’t follow me! I don’t want to hear your lies! I saw everything!” I screamed, slamming the door behind me as I bolted to my car.

My hands trembled as I turned the key in the ignition, tears clouding my vision while I drove like a madwoman, fleeing from the wreckage they left me in.

Later that night...

I was curled up on my couch, still in my uniform, the fabric wrinkled and damp with sweat, my body numb but my mind spinning like a hurricane.

And then came the knock.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t have to look, I already knew who it was.

“Lexie, I know you’re in there,” Amanda’s voice came through the door, hoarse and broken from crying. “Please open the door. Let’s talk.”

“Get lost!” I screamed from the inside, my voice raw and cracking. “I don’t want to see either of you again!”

“I’m not leaving until you talk to me!” she cried.

“Then rot out there!”

I hurled a pillow at the wall, then grabbed the nearest fragile vase and threw it too. The crash of shattering glass didn’t calm me, it only echoed the chaos inside me.

“Lexie, please,” Rafael’s voice followed, muffled but unmistakable.

“We know you’re angry, but let us explain-”

I could hear Amanda sobbing.

“I’m sorry, Lexie. What we did was horrible. I never wanted you to find out like that- please…”

Her voice trembled.

But I was past trembling. I wasn’t just broken. I was destroyed.

I shot up from the couch and stormed toward the door, not to welcome them in, but to demand the truth.

“Since when?”

That’s all I said. My voice was cold and my eyes completely empty.

“How long have you been screwing me over?”

The guilt washed across their faces like a wave crashing down. They looked at each other, and Amanda finally whispered, “A-almost a year.”

A year.

An entire year.

I staggered back like she’d physically hit me.

I had been planning our wedding. Celebrating anniversaries. Buying him gifts. Believing his lies.

All for what? A fucking lie?*

“W-why?” I asked, my voice splintering at the edges. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Rafael said, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s just—”

“Just what?” I cut him off, rage building again like a wave. “You’re just horny? Just that I didn’t sleep with you fast enough? So you ran to the nearest available warm body?”

I pointed straight at Amanda, who sobbed harder, unable to meet my gaze.

And then came the final blow.

“I-I’m p-pregnant, Lex… I’m so sorry.”

The world tilted. My knees nearly gave out as I gripped the doorknob to steady myself.

My cousin. My best friend. Pregnant.

With the child of the man I was supposed to marry.

“Get off my doorstep,” I said, my voice hollow, empty. “Before I burn this whole building down with the both of you in it.”

“Lexie-please-” Rafael started again.

But I slammed the door in their faces so hard, the walls shook.

And in that moment, I made myself a promise.

They would regret ever crossing me.