In life, there are experiences that scar us forever. And for Lillian Wang, 21, it was the betrayal of people she cherished and trusted the most.
"Quick, if we don't show up soon, she might think we truly forgot her birthday," Lillian said. She carefully held the bouquet and gift she bought for Tricia, one of her best friends, whose 22nd birthday was today.
"I know. I know," Denise replied, making huge strides to catch up with her. She walked carefully, as she was carrying the gift they had bought for Tricia.
Lillian and Denise both had work today, so they could only come to Tricia's place to surprise her in the evening.
Tricia hadn't contacted them, and they knew she might be feeling upset since none of them had even sent her a birthday greeting.
Lillian and Denise intentionally did this as they wanted to pretend they had forgotten when, in fact, they had already planned to surprise Tricia months ago.
Tricia was living alone in her apartment, so they were sure she must be brooding that they forgot about her birthday. They were besties after all. They had been friends with Tricia since junior high.
Since starting college, because they were apart from their families, they usually celebrated their birthdays together, even after celebrating it with other groups of friends or peers. They still had a different celebration where it was only them.
"Shhh..." Lillian said to Denise as they reached Tricia's floor.
Denise nodded knowingly and remained silent and still.
Lillian lit the candles on the cake as Denise held it securely. Then, once everything was ready, both of them did their best to walk soundlessly.
When they reached Tricia's unit, they silently input the password and soundlessly walked in and left their shoes at the entrance.
The lights were switched on, so they were sure, Tricia was home.
"Ahh..."
Lillian and Denise froze when they heard a moan coming from Tricia's room.
The first thought that came to their mind was that Tricia may have slipped and was in pain, so they quickly walked to the ajar door to go and help their girl.
"!!!"
Lillian and Denise gawked when an erotic scene greeted them instead!
Tricia was with a man, and they were doing adult stuff!
Erotic groans and the sound of skin slapping skin resounded as Tricia and her lover moved in synchrony.
Lillian and Denise were too shocked that they ended up gawking at the scene instead of looking away.
Among them, they thought Tricia was the most innocent and pure, both in mind and body, since she always denied any interest or curiosity in things like this.
Tricia had a fresh, youthful demeanor and acted and spoke like a gentle saint who would never ever do something like this. But now, Tricia was moving her hips wantonly, eagerly meeting each thrust the man under her made until they shivered as if in ecstasy.
Tricia fell on top of the man, as if losing her strength and they kissed like lovers so starved for each other.
Lillian and Denise were speechless and realized they should leave. They planned to surprise their friend, but it seems Tricia already had someone to celebrate her birthday with.
"Let's surprise her tomorrow and pretend we could not make it today," Lillian soundlessly whispered to Denise, who nodded.
What puzzled them, though, was that they thought Tricia was single. Who would have thought she had a lover she was already intimate with?
They were about to walk away silently when Denise glanced at the necktie on the floor and recognized it.
"Isn't that the necktie you bought for your boyfriend?" Denise whispered.
Lillian felt a sense of dread overwhelm her when she realized Denise was right.
The necktie was indeed the one she had gifted to Tom, her boyfriend.
Denise recognized it since she helped Lillian choose when she bought it. Why would the necktie be in Tricia's room?
Lillian let her eyes wander around the room and recognized the men's scattered clothes. All of it was Tom's!
"Tricia, you're always so amazing!" the man under Tricia said, still breathless.
Lillian and Denise recognized the voice immediately.
It was Tom!
Not wanting to accept such betrayal, Lillian thought that perhaps they simply had the same clothes and their voice only happened to sound alike. Perhaps it was Tom's brother or other relatives.
Denial was her first barrier as she could not comprehend that Tricia or Tom could ever do something like this to her.
"Am I?!" Tricia said in a seductive and flirty voice that they never thought she could make.
"Yes, you're the best! Every time we do this, you always send me to heaven," Tom praised. His words suggested that this was not the first time this had happened between them. It had happened many times.
"You sure know how to flatter. You are the one who's making me feel so good, every time." Tricia chuckled seductively, moving back a bit and giving a playful push at Tom's chest. "I'm better than that shabby nerd, right?"
"You know, I've never done it with her. But I'm sure you are. You are definitely better at everything. You're so sweet and alluring. That nerd doesn't even compare to you. She's so boring and stoic, like a doll. I just pitied her, so I dated her," the man said as he caressed Tricia's face.
Tricia sounded happy with his words and chortled. "You love me, right? Not her?"
"Of course! You are the one I loved right from the start. I just wanted to get close to you, so I approached her. I was only kidding about liking her. I didn't know she would believe all my words, so I ended up dating her because I felt bad having to take it all back," Tom said.
"I know, right? Geez. You shouldn't have had to waste your energy on her. We could have dated much earlier if you hadn't pitied her. They say that she's a strong, independent girl anyway. She can take care of herself. Why do we have to suffer because of her? Now we have to be secretive like this instead of announcing to everyone we are dating. She's such a pain," Tricia complained.
"Don't worry. I'm just waiting for the right timing. After I break up with her, we can wait a few months before we announce we are dating," Tom said, kissing Tricia.
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A/N:
This is a work of fiction. All names and businesses are made up, and any person in real life having the same names are purely coincidental.