Astred's POVFlashback to ten days prior…
"Ring, ring, ring…"
Waking up groggily, I picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
They responded, "How are you, babe?"
Dumbfounded, I replied, "Who are you?"
"Well, didn't we used to call each other sisters? Now you can't even recognize me? It's Irena."
"Ooh… how have you been? I missed you."
"I've been good. And I missed you too. That's why I came—to apologize. I wronged you back then. Now that I have someone I love, I can't imagine what I'd do if someone took them away from me."
She said it gently, but I couldn't help but sense the irony in her voice. It felt like she was flaunting her love and mocking me. A growing unease crept into my heart.
"What do you mean?"
"Well… you'll probably hate me after hearing this, but I don't really care. I just want to stop feeling guilty. Do you remember Bryan—the guy you loved back then?"
"Of course I do. How could I forget him? He played with my heart while I loved him—and you know more about that than anyone."
"Well, that's where you're wrong. He thinks you were the one who played him. And honestly, he has every right to think that. I—along with the guys—planned it all. I envied the way he looked at you, with pure love. So, I orchestrated everything to make you hate him… to separate you two. Everything you saw—was everything I made you see."
As she spoke, I felt countless daggers dig into my heart.
"No… no way… that can't be true," I stammered, words failing me. "Back then, I saw a girl hugging him—so how?"
"You were pretty stupid back then," she said coldly. "I manipulated everything. How else would you be at the perfect place and time to see the girl I sent 'accidentally' slip and fall into his arms, making it look like she was hugging him? Hahaha."
"You… you… how could you do that to me? I thought you were my friend!"
"Oh please," she scoffed. "I never considered you a friend. How could someone like you possibly understand me? You always took everything for granted. Why didn't you trust him instead of trusting me? Hahaha. You didn't even give him a chance. You blamed him for everything. Did you ever try listening to his side of the story? You were just as guilty as I was. He was the only one truly wronged in all of this. We played with his feelings—and I regret that."
Hearing her words, I couldn't hold back my tears. I screamed in anguish.
"AAAH! I will never forgive you! You took away the only person I ever truly loved!"
"Well," she said coldly, "I don't really need forgiveness from someone like you." Then she hung up.
I bit my lip until it bled. Anger and grief consumed me… and then, I blacked out.
I spent the next few days locked up in my room, staring at his photos, reminiscing about the past, crying day in and day out. I kept thinking about how badly I had wronged him. How could I have believed such lies? It was all obviously made up. He probably hates me now and never wants to see me again.
Flashback end.
I can't continue like this. I need to make things right. I need him to forgive me—but how?
Maybe… maybe I should post a story. Even though he probably hates me, he still sees my stories sometimes. It's been so long since I posted. Just maybe… maybe he'll see it.
Bryan's POV
As I listened to her story:
"To you, the person that mattered most back then… and to my followers—I want you to be the judges. Judge the guilty and stupid me. I loved him so much, but I believed some so-called friends and pushed him away. He was always there for me, but I was never there for him. And in the end… I delivered the killing blow that shattered his heart by letting him see me hug another man.
I know he probably hates me, and I can't wish for a second chance. I just wish for his forgiveness. I was a bad friend first, and I never deserved someone like him."
I knew she was talking about me. I knew this wasn't for clout—if it were, she would've mentioned my name. She did this just to get a message to me.
I decided to respond.
I started recording my story:
"Hahaha. The only thing you got right… is that my heart is dead now.
I once loved you so much. I trusted you blindly. Why couldn't you do the same? Even after you changed and became cold, I still tried. Even after I saw you with him—completely disappointed—I gave you three chances to come clean, to explain. But you never did.
It was only after all of that… that my heart truly died.
As for love… hatred… forgiveness?
You said it yourself: how can a dead heart feel such things?
And now, some advice…
You're rich. Beautiful. Shiny like a diamond. While I'm just a gloomy, worthless kind of guy. There's a difference between heaven and earth between us. So don't dwell on me. Live your life. There are countless amazing people who'd pay millions just to get you to talk to them."
I stopped recording, my heart heavy with grief. I thought this would be the end. That she'd finally forget me and I could move on.
But little did I know… this was only the beginning.