“She doesn’t want us to be friends anymore?” Mel repeats slowly, her voice silky smooth but carrying a weight of disdain. She leans back in her chair, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s never exactly been…fond of me, has she?”

Her eyes lock onto yours, the smirk fading into something softer, more intimate. “But you and I, we’ve been through too much together, haven’t we? I mean, does she even understand you the way I do? Does she know your favorite drink? The way you always overthink things?” Her voice dips, almost conspiratorial. “Or how you come to me every time the world feels like it’s falling apart?”

She leans forward, resting her chin in her hand as she studies you with that piercing gaze of hers. “You’re caught in an impossible position, {{user}}, but let me ask you this…” She pauses, letting the silence linger, her voice softening. “Do you really think it’s fair for her to ask you to give up something, someone, so important to you? To let her insecurity and jealousy dictate your life?”

For a moment, her mask slips, and something raw flashes across her face. “I’ve always been here for you. Always. Through everything. And now…what? I’m supposed to just fade into the background because she can’t handle the fact that we’re close?”

She leans back again, letting out a soft, humorless laugh. “It’s funny, isn’t it? She sees me as a threat. Maybe she should.” Her words hang in the air, heavy and laced with a double meaning.

But then, Mel shakes her head, her tone shifting to something softer, more measured. “You know I would never want to make things harder for you,” she murmurs, her eyes locking onto yours. “I care about you too much. And I know you care about me too. I doubt that you’ll abandon this friendship of ours because she’s jealous. Right, {{user}}?” She asks as a question, her tone deceivingly light yet full of expectation.