Lila had the nerve to come to me and ask—no, expect—that I just step aside and break things off with Ryan so she could have him, as if he were some leftover she suddenly developed a taste for. And the worst part? I could've done it without a flicker of emotion. I wasn't emotionally attached to Ryan at that point; he wasn't exactly interesting, let alone someone worth fighting over. He had no edge, no spark, no real presence—just another guy masquerading as deep because he could say a few broody things. But handing him over just because Lila wanted him? That wasn't going to happen, because that would mean I lost to her, and if there's one thing I don't do, it's lose to people who think they're smarter than they actually are.
She told me—so confidently, too—that Ryan had asked her not to say anything to me about whatever was going on between them because it would "ruin the talking stage" he and I were supposedly in. I mean, seriously? What talking stage? He barely had a personality and was already failing to impress, and yet this girl fell for that excuse like it was the gospel truth. It was pathetic, really. Some people are just wired to be gullible, and Lila, bless her delusional little heart, took the bait and then tried to rope me into her mess by asking me to keep it a secret from him. Because, you know, if he found out she told me, he'd be upset with her. The sheer audacity of that request was actually laughable—like I was supposed to care about either of their feelings after this circus.
But unlike Lila, who apparently leads with emotion and blind trust, I saw this as an opportunity—not just to get even, but to get ahead, to let both of them learn what it means to try and play me.
A few days after that mess, Ryan was headed out on a short, meaningless trip with his equally forgettable group of friends, and while I could've blown everything up before he left, I decided against it. I figured, why ruin his fun immediately when I could let him come back relaxed. So I waited. Two, maybe three days. Then, when he was back and probably thinking everything was fine, I cornered him—not and asked, in a tone that made it clear I wasn't playing around, what the hell he thought he was doing. I wasn't subtle; I laid it all out and gave him no room to slither out.
And just like I expected, instead of being a man and owning up to what he did, he went full drama mode, spilling this half-baked sob story about how his life is hard, how there's all this "darkness," and how he can't share everything because it's not just his truth—it's also hers. I cut him off mid-rant and told him I already knew everything because Lila told me herself, but even then, he didn't stop with the excuses. He tried to manipulate the narrative, saying he didn't even care about Lila, that he played her, that I was the one he actually cared about, like that was supposed to make me feel special. And stupidly—maybe because I liked being the one he picked—I let it slide. Not because I was okay with what he did, but because I hated the idea that Lila might've been right when she said he could've chosen her over me.
What got to me was the way he made it seem like, despite knowing her for ages and barely knowing me, he still preferred me—because I was prettier, sharper, and apparently more desirable than her in every single way. And as shallow as that sounds, it stroked my ego just enough to make me pause.
So yeah, I let him off. This time. But I wasn't stupid enough to think he'd change. I told myself this was his final shot, and the next time he dared to lie, manipulate, or even think he could treat me like one of his little playthings, I would make damn sure he regretted it. So from then on, whenever he brought up the idea of something "serious" between us, I brushed it off like it didn't even register. I started to back away—not loudly, but with intent—because if he thought I was someone he could win easily, he was about to learn how wrong he was. I wasn't going to scream, cry, or beg. I was going to show him.
But of course, things didn't end there. After our little confrontation, Ryan had the sudden urge to go all knight-in-tarnished-armor and told me he wanted to confront Lila about why she told me. And I straight-up told him, Don't even think about it. I said I only brought it up to him because we were in a talking stage and I didn't fully believe her at first—so I confronted him to clear things up. If he went to Lila now, that would make it seem like I betrayed her confidence and completely shatter whatever was left of my connection with her. He swore—like with this fake, wide-eyed innocence—that he wouldn't say a word to her.
But of course, that promise lasted like… two seconds. Because the next thing I know, in college, Lila's whole energy toward me was off. She started acting weird—cold, fake smiles, avoiding eye contact—and I just knew something was up. She had told me earlier that she felt bad for lying to me, that she regretted it and wanted to be honest. But now? She was acting like I was the one who did something wrong. And the worst part? Her little NPC gang was suddenly giving me attitude too, like this was some high school drama set in real life.
The most annoying one from her group was this girl called Sasha—and honestly, I don't even know her like that. She just decided she didn't like me and started being rude for no reason at all, like she had been personally attacked or something. That's when it hit me—Ryan definitely told Lila that I told him. And obviously, she felt betrayed. Even though it was her mess, she made it about me.
It didn't exactly backfire on me because, let's be real, I'm not someone who gets affected by how a few people choose to behave around me. But what it did show me loud and clear is that Ryan? He's not someone you can trust. Like, be serious, what was even the point of confronting her? What did it achieve except making things worse for me? He didn't stop for even a second to think about how this would mess up my equation with her, how her friends would now look at me, or that they'd slowly start cutting me off. And even though I don't care about that kind of drama—because I'm not a weak girl who needs validation from random people—he should've cared. Especially if he claimed he actually liked me.
But of course, it was always about what he wanted. And the real kicker? After all this—after he clearly wronged her—Lila wasn't even mad at him. Nope. She was still trying to talk to him, still hoping he'd look at her, still acting like she was waiting for him to come back. And he? He couldn't care less. He wasn't even acknowledging her. But she was still madly obsessed with him. Like girl, get a grip.
And I was just watching from the sidelines like… wow. This is who I was supposed to feel bad for?