It was a clear night, you could count so many stars and to you that seemed like a good omen. You’d always felt like you and Rafe were written in the stars. Fated to be. Like a million shining stars had all aligned on the day you’d met so many years ago.

You gave his hand a squeeze as the two of you walk into the restaurant. He grins down at you, raising your hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss against your skin. Finally, you think. Finally the two of you had gotten it right.

Your friends beamed as you walked into the private room Rafe had rented out for the night. They’d all been witness to the never ending rollercoaster that had been your relationship with Rafe, had all been waiting for the two of you to figure things out.

Sofia, your best friend, is the first to wrap her arms around you. You hug her back, breathing in her scent. That cloyingly sweet scent you’d smelled one night a year ago. “Is that strawberries and vanilla?” You ask her, your brow furrowed.

and that was the moment I knew

Sofia nods, not thinking anything of the question, but Rafe meets your eyes. And it was like slow motion, everything falling into place. Rafe’s panicked, you can feel it in the way he stiffens next to you, the way his grip on your waist tightens.

“It was her. That night. It was her” you turn to look at him horrified. You’d known he’d cheated, he’d confessed the night it had happened. But he’d never told you who, always said it didn’t matter. Only now you knew it did matter. It turned your boyfriend and best friend into liars, turned your relationship into a giant lie.

what do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know

“Baby” He’s holding onto your waist so tight, his grip bruising, like he’s scared to let go because he knows you’ll disappear.

You wrench out of his arms, hand going to the necklace he’d given you, ripping it from your neck. You throw it at him, it smacks him against the shoulder and falls to the floor, as broken as you feel.