She let herself be played. That's what really twisted the knife. While she was waiting for him to come back, he was out there having fun with some new chick—the one he left her for—but didn't even have the balls to tell her then.
Three fucking weeks. That's how long he kept her on the hook, feeding her lies while he was screwing someone else. She let out a bitter, dark laugh.
Judyta and Aleks exchanged a quick glance over her hunched-over body.
"What the...?" Aleks mouthed. Judyta just shrugged and shook her head. They had no idea what was going on inside Nikola's head.
This casual night out was turning into something they had no control over. And yeah—they were worried. She was spiraling fast. They just wanted to cheer her up—especially since tonight, at that damn dinner, her so-called friends were welcoming Adam's new girlfriend like it was the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them had wanted it to go this far.
"Did you really have to show her that?" Judyta hissed. "Why do you always have to be so... intense?"
"Me?! It's just a photo!" Aleks was offended. "And come on—she's got a horse face. Let's not act like he traded up." He held the phone up again to Judyta. "If she can't even handle seeing them in a damn photo, how's she gonna survive seeing them face-to-face at one of those 'friendly hangouts' her backstabbing friends are so fond of?"
It was hard to argue with that logic. Judyta puffed her cheeks, pushed the phone away, and leaned toward Nikola. She slowly reached out to touch her, but before her hands made contact, Nikola snapped out of it.
"That spineless little weasel!" Nikola yelled, eyes darting around for her closest friends. "That pig in human skin! That walking dick pretending to be a man!"
Heads turned.
"Who's she talking about?" a girl nearby whispered to her group.
"Probably her ex," Judyta replied offhandedly.
"Here!" Aleks, always the enabler, slid a full shot glass toward Nikola.
But instead of reaching for the glass, she grabbed the bottle and took a long swig straight from it, shocking not just him but everyone watching. You could practically hear the collective gasp from the surrounding crowd.
Nikola set the bottle down with a clink. Color flooded her face—red, no longer just from fury, but from sheer alcohol. She'd just downed half the damn thing. Everything buzzed. Her skin, her ears, her thoughts. But one thing was clear—she was done playing nice.
If this doesn't kill her by tomorrow, she'll survive anything, Aleks thought.
From her tightly clenched lips came a soft, drawn-out whimper—like a kid about to cry but still trying to hold it in. But her eyes were wide open—and even the tears couldn't mask the rage in them.
"Well, this escalated quickly," someone muttered.
"A tissue! Anyone got a tissue?" someone else called out. A napkin appeared in Nikola's hand like magic. She wiped her cheeks.
"Sweetheart, men are beasts. He's not worth it, love. None of them ever are."
Nikola didn't have the patience for some worn-out cliché tossed at her like a Hallmark quote—especially not from a stranger reciting it like it came straight out of a bargain-bin self-help manual.
"Oh look, Aunt Good Advice decided to join the party," she snapped. She hadn't asked for sympathy. She didn't need a life coach either.
The woman who had meant well but misjudged the room looked hurt.
"No need to be rude," she barked.
Suddenly, the crowd's sympathy for Nikola began to waver. The women started huffing and clicking their tongues. Offering comfort and getting slapped for it? That felt like an insult.
"All right, all right," Judyta stepped in, seeing the storm coming. Her usually well-mannered sister throwing out snappy comments meant one thing: Nikola was at her limit. She didn't have the strength to be polite or care about consequences.
"Let her be."
"People, calm down! For God's sake, cut her some slack—this is a full-blown personal crisis happening right in front of you!" Aleks cried out, dramatic enough to earn an Oscar nod.
Judyta shook her head disapprovingly.
"Crisis?" Nikola scoffed, anger flaring in her voice. She was sure her suspicions were right. "The crisis hasn't even started yet," she growled, her eyes flashing. "Just wait till I get my hands on that two-timing scumbag."
"No doubt he's a dick, but why two-timing?" Aleks looked confused.
"That chick with the horse face? His new girlfriend? She's his new coworker," Nikola snapped. Everyone within earshot held their breath.
"Aleks!" she barked, and he straightened up. "Where did you get that picture?"
"Bożenka's Instagram," he replied, not quite grasping the weight of what he'd just said.A stab to the heart. Nikola didn't even have time to mourn that friendship."That photo's from tonight's dinner," he added, quieter now.
"Is Sandra-the-Horseface tagged in it?"
Aleks checked. "Oh, absolutely."
Nikola and Judyta leaned in—and with them, probably eight more heads craned over Aleks's shoulder to see what he saw.
"Perfect. Go to her profile. Let's see if she's posted more with Adam."
She had. Oh boy, had she ever.
Aleks immediately started comparing dates, piecing together a timeline. The deeper he got, the deeper his frown. Nikola had been pretty restrained with her insults toward Adam so far, but in his mind, Aleks had already come up with ten far more accurate labels.
"So…" Judyta swallowed hard. "So when he said he needed space, he was already seeing her?" She couldn't believe it, even as the evidence piled up.
"Yeah." Her voice cracked. "When he was feeding me lines about pre-engagement nerves. Even earlier than that," Nikola rubbed her face. "When he started nitpicking me for not working out, for letting myself go—he was already fucking her."
She shook her head and gave a bitter smile. All that alcohol she'd drunk now fed the slow-burning fire of hate inside her. The truth stung like hell. But they say the truth sets you free. Better to know and hurt than to be the clueless idiot they were probably laughing at while he was cheating on her.
Judyta gently wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her. The gesture made Nikola's eyes glisten, but no more tears fell. She just felt something... cracking inside her. Slowly. Quietly. From the inside out.