The storm hadn't stopped since that night—both outside and within me.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, the sky was still a dull gray, rain misting over the campus like a thin veil of grief. I walked briskly beneath an umbrella, head down, trying to avoid stares. Word was spreading. Slowly, but surely. I could feel it in the lingering glances, the hushed whispers. My perfectly woven world had started to unravel in front of everyone.
Alex and I had spent the weekend doing what felt like espionage—going through social media archives, phone records, and old photos, trying to piece together a timeline. We'd discovered that Daniel and Sophie's relationship stretched further back than I imagined—far before Daniel and I had even become official. A lie built upon a lie.
Worse still, there were mentions of a trip they'd taken under the pretense of "family emergencies." Alex's theory was that it wasn't just betrayal—it was manipulation. Something darker was at play.
"You think they planned this?" I asked, sitting beside him in the corner booth of the café.
Alex leaned in, whispering low. "Maybe not from the start. But once you were in the picture? Yeah, I think they kept you in the dark on purpose. Sophie always did envy you."
I blinked. "Envy?"
"Think about it. You're the golden girl, Stacey. Top of your class. Professors love you. Guys like Daniel don't look at girls like Sophie when you're around. Maybe this was about more than love."
That idea festered in my brain like a wound. Envy? I'd always seen Sophie as the confident one—the life of the party, the girl with the laugh everyone turned toward. Had I misread everything? Had she ever really been my friend?
That night, I opened an old group chat thread between Sophie, Daniel, and me. As I scrolled through the emojis and inside jokes, something stuck out—a cryptic message from Sophie nearly a year ago, just before my birthday:
Sophie: Let's just make it unforgettable. One night can change everything.
At the time, I had thought it was about the surprise party. But now?
A gnawing suspicion crept into my chest.
I tapped Alex's number and called. "What if this was all part of it?" I whispered when he picked up. "What if the night of my birthday was when it started? Something happened then. I can feel it."
"Then let's find out," he replied. "You said you weren't drunk, right? But someone gave you that cocktail you didn't order?"
I froze. I remembered. A pink drink. Sweet. Strange. And the way Daniel had stayed by my side the rest of the night, unusually attentive.
"I think they drugged me," I said slowly, my voice trembling.
Alex was quiet for a long time. "We need proof."
The next few days blurred together in a whirlwind of research, reaching out to people from the party, digging up photos and videos. One video, taken by a random classmate, finally gave us something. In the background, blurry but clear enough, Daniel could be seen taking a drink from the bar and slipping something into it. A second later, he handed it to me.
My breath caught in my throat.
There it was.
The moment my trust had been shattered—caught on tape.
We had a lead now. But leads were dangerous. This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This was about uncovering something much uglier than a love triangle. If they had drugged me, what else were they capable of?
I met Sophie on the campus lawn the following day. I pretended nothing was wrong. She gave me that same fake smile, all sugar and poison.
"How have you been?" she asked, cocking her head.
"Better," I lied. "Actually, I've been thinking a lot… about us. About everything."
She nodded, feigning concern.
"I was hoping we could talk," I continued. "Maybe just go over a few things. Clear the air."
"Of course," she said, with that shark-like gleam in her eyes. "Anytime, Stace."
I smiled sweetly. "How about tonight?"
She agreed, and as I walked away, I could feel her eyes on my back. Watching. Calculating.
Back in my room, I set up my laptop. Hidden cameras. Voice recorders. I was done playing fair.
That night, when Sophie arrived at my apartment, her perfume hit me like a memory I wanted to forget. She sat on the edge of my bed like she owned the place.
We talked casually at first. Old times. Laughter. But I guided her gently toward the truth, until the mask started to slip.
"You know," she said, swirling her wine glass, "you're smarter than I gave you credit for."
I froze.
"You knew?" I asked, softly.
"I always wondered when you'd piece it together. You never were good at spotting red flags. But I suppose we all have our flaws."
I said nothing, my pulse thundering in my ears.
"Daniel and I—we wanted a clean break. But you? You made it so hard."
My fingers clenched beneath the table. "So you drugged me?"
Sophie looked at me, then laughed. "Come on, Stacey. Don't be so dramatic."
But there it was.
The confirmation.
She stood, finishing her drink. "Don't dig too deep, sweetheart. Some things are better left buried."
When she left, I sat there in the silence of my room, shaking.
I had what I needed.
Now the real game was about to begin.
And I wasn't playing nice anymore.