Chapter 3: The Friend I Never Knew
I stared at the message until the words stopped looking real.
*Emily has no idea what I’ve already done.*
Those seven words followed me everywhere.
In the car.
At home.
Even when I closed my eyes.
I kept asking myself the same question.
What had Megan done?
Ryan refused to tell me everything immediately.
“I think you need to hear it from her,” he said.
I almost laughed.
“Hear what from her? Another excuse?””
Ryan looked down.
“I know you’re hurt.””
“Hurt?””
My voice rose.
“My best friend tried to humiliate me in front of thirty people.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
Because he was right there.
He was her husband.
He had lived with this.
Ryan didn’t get angry.
He just looked sad.
“You’re right.””
That response surprised me.
“She does this,” he said quietly.
“She hurts people, then convinces everyone they’re wrong for being hurt.””
I left the coffee shop with more questions than answers.
But one thing was clear.
I needed to talk to Megan.
Not over text.
Not over the phone.
Face to face.
She agreed to meet me that afternoon.
Of course, she chose the place.
The same restaurant where the birthday dinner happened.
When I arrived, she was already sitting there.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect smile.
Like nothing had happened.
“Emily,” she said.
I sat down.
“What did you do?””
Her smile faded slightly.
“Excuse me?””
“You heard me.””
She leaned back.
“You’re still angry about that?””
I stared at her.
“That’s your response?””
She sighed.
“You’re making this bigger than it is.””
I placed Ryan’s screenshot on the table.
Her expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
“You went through Ryan’s phone?””
“No.””
“Then how did you get this?””
“That doesn’t matter.””
“It matters.””
“No, Megan. What matters is why you wrote this.””
She looked at the screenshot.
Then smiled.
A small, cold smile.
“You really think you know everything.””
I felt my heart drop.
“What does that mean?””
She picked up her coffee.
“You’ve always been so trusting.””
I stared at her.
“Was that supposed to be an insult?””
“No.””
She looked directly at me.
“It’s an observation.””
The woman sitting across from me looked familiar.
But somehow, I didn’t know her at all.
“You were my best friend,” I whispered.
She looked away.
“People change.””
“Did you?””
Silence.
Then she said:
“Maybe I just stopped pretending.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
I stood up.
“Megan, tell me the truth.””
She looked at me.
“What truth?””
“Did you want Daniel?””
For the first time, she didn’t immediately deny it.
That pause was enough.
I walked away.
But before I reached the door, she called my name.
“Emily.””
I stopped.
“You should ask your husband what happened two years ago.””
I turned around.
“What happened two years ago?””
She smiled.
“I think you’ll enjoy hearing his version.””
Then she left.
I stood there alone.
May you like
Because suddenly, I wasn’t just questioning Megan.
I was questioning Daniel.
