Sarah stood by the window of her apartment, her hands trembling as she stared out at the city that had once seemed so full of promise. The evening sun dipped below the skyline, casting long shadows over the world below. Her thoughts, however, were not on the beauty of the view, but on the reality she had just learned.
Darren, her fiance, had always been distant. Their engagement had been one of family obligation, arranged long before they had even met. Their families, both wealthy and influential, had decided they were a perfect match—a business alliance disguised as a union of love. But Sarah had believed in it, had hoped that with time, Darren would come to care for her, that she could be the one to make him feel something real.
And then there was Alyssa. Her best friend, the one she had called a sister. Alyssa had been there through everything. From the start, she had supported the engagement, cheered her on, and promised that everything would work out. But she had been lying.
The betrayal had been slow, like a poison dripping into her life. It had begun with small, unexplained absences, vague excuses, and a growing distance between Darren and her. She had convinced herself that it was just the pressure of their families’ expectations, the strain of the engagement. But that night, when she had gone to visit Darren at his apartment—expecting to find him working late, as usual—she had discovered the truth.
The door had been ajar when she arrived, a soft, unfamiliar sound coming from within. Her heart had started to race, an uneasy feeling gnawing at her as she pushed the door open.
The sight before her had been enough to shatter her entire world.
There, in the middle of the room, was Darren. But he wasn’t alone. Alyssa was there too, in his arms, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. The world seemed to stop. Sarah had frozen in place, her breath caught in her throat as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"Sarah..." Darren’s voice had been a soft gasp, as if he was more surprised to see her than ashamed of what they had done. Alyssa had pulled away first, but not before offering Sarah a look—one that was a mix of guilt and defiance.
The words that followed came out in a blur, but they were enough to break Sarah beyond repair. "It’s not what you think," Darren had said, but there was no denying the truth in his eyes. "Alyssa and I... we’ve been seeing each other for months."
Alyssa had stepped forward then, her voice so smooth, so cold. "Sarah, it’s not personal. I never meant for you to find out like this, but you deserve to know the truth. Darren and I... we love each other. We always have."
The shock hit her like a physical blow. Her mind couldn’t process it. The woman she had trusted like a sister, the man she had hoped to build a life with—both of them had been lying to her all along. The betrayal was so deep that it felt like a physical wound, one that would never heal.
She had never been one to cry in front of others, but now, in the face of such raw pain, her tears came unbidden, streaming down her cheeks as she turned away from them. She had wanted to scream, to curse them, to ask how they could do this to her. But the words wouldn’t come.
Instead, she had run. She had fled into the night, not caring where she went, only knowing that she couldn’t stay there any longer. She didn’t want to hear their apologies, didn’t want to feel the sting of their betrayal any longer.
The city streets were cold, the air biting at her skin as she walked aimlessly, her thoughts a chaotic blur. She had been betrayed. Her heart, once full of hope, was now an empty shell. The future she had envisioned, the love she thought she would one day share with Darren, was nothing more than a cruel illusion.
Sarah walked faster, her body trembling from the cold and the shock. She didn’t know where she was going or how long she had been walking. All she could feel was the pain, the crushing weight of it pressing down on her chest. It was too much. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. It was all too much.
The next moment was a blur. She had reached the edge of the bridge, her body moving on instinct, driven by a deep, unbearable sorrow. The river below seemed to beckon her, the dark water swirling beneath the bridge as if offering an escape from the agony she couldn’t escape any other way.
She stepped closer, feeling the edge beneath her feet. One more step, and it would all be over. The pain would end. The betrayal would stop haunting her.
With one final glance at the city below, at the life she had lost, Sarah stepped forward.
It was the silence that followed that seemed to last forever. The air grew still, and the night held its breath as she fell.
Her body hit the water below with a force that was almost violent, the coldness of it wrapping around her like a shroud. The shock of the cold was the last thing she felt before everything went black.
Sarah’s vision blurred, her thoughts fading into nothingness. There was no pain. No sorrow. Just an endless, peaceful void.
But then, as if from a distant place, a voice called to her. A voice that was both familiar and foreign.
"Sarah."
The voice was calm, soothing, belonging to a person she knew well enough.
"Sarah, wake up."
Her body trembled, as though waking from a deep sleep, but this time, when she opened her eyes, the world around her was different. The cold was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar warmth. The sounds of the city, the rushing river, were gone. Instead, there was only silence.
