Pamela had never liked surprises. Not the good kind, not the bad kind. Yet that evening, life had handed her the cruelest surprise of all.
She had spent hours decorating Jossy's room for his birthday balloons, ribbons, even a small cake she baked herself because she wanted it to be personal. His smile, when he walked in and saw it, was worth everything. For a moment, it felt like the world had paused just for them.
But the pause didn't last.
Later that evening, as she left his house and wandered down the street, something caught her eye. Jossy, the boy she loved, stepping out of his house again this time not alone. Lilly was with him.
Pamela froze.
The way Lilly's hand brushed Jossy's arm, the way Jossy leaned close to say something that made her laugh it was enough. Enough to shatter every balloon she had blown, every ribbon she had tied, every piece of her heart she had given.
Her throat went dry, but her eyes burned with unshed tears. She wanted to scream his name, to demand an explanation, but the words wouldn't leave her lips. Instead, she turned away, her legs carrying her back to the hostel like a ghost drifting without purpose.
⸻
By the next morning, everyone in her circle knew something was wrong. Pamela was quieter than usual, her once bright laughter dimmed, her words clipped.
When Lilly finally walked into their shared lecture hall, Pamela's blood boiled. She had tried to convince herself she misunderstood what she saw. Maybe Jossy and Lilly had just bumped into each other. Maybe it wasn't what it looked like. But the smug little smile playing on Lilly's lips told a different story.
Pamela stood, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Heads turned, but she didn't care.
"Lilly," her voice cracked through the low classroom chatter. "We need to talk."
Lilly blinked, feigning innocence. "About what?"
Pamela's fists clenched. "About Jossy. About you. About last night."
Gasps rippled through the room, but Lilly only tilted her head, her expression calm, almost rehearsed. "Pamela, don't make a scene. You'll embarrass yourself."
That was it. The dam broke.
"You're supposed to be my friend!" Pamela shouted, her voice trembling with rage. "And you… you went behind my back with him?"
Lilly sighed, her calmness infuriating. "Pamela, you're overreacting. Jossy and I we just have history. You knew that."
"No!" Pamela's voice cracked. "I didn't know you'd betray me."
The class was dead silent now, all eyes on them. Pamela's heart pounded against her ribs, but she didn't care. She needed answers, she needed the truth.
Lilly leaned closer, lowering her voice so only Pamela could hear. "Don't act surprised. Jossy was never yours, not really. He still looks at me the way he used to. And maybe… maybe you were just a placeholder."
The words hit Pamela like a blade to the chest. Her vision blurred with tears, but she refused to cry in front of Lilly. Not here. Not now.
She stormed out of the hall, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
⸻
That night, she couldn't keep it in any longer. She went straight to Jossy's hostel. He opened the door, surprise flashing across his face.
"Pamela? What are you doing here?"
Her voice shook, but her eyes were steel. "Tell me the truth. Are you still seeing Lilly?"
His silence was her answer.
Pamela's chest caved in, but she pressed harder, her voice breaking. "How could you? After everything… after I trusted you, after I"
"Pamela, it's not what you think," Jossy interrupted, stepping closer, his tone pleading. "I care about you. I do. But Lilly and I… we've known each other longer. It's complicated."
Pamela laughed bitterly, the sound hollow. "Complicated? No, Jossy. It's betrayal. Pure and simple."
Her tears finally spilled, hot and unrelenting. "I gave you everything I could. And you… you chose her."
"Pamela, please"
But she stepped back, shaking her head violently. "Don't. Don't say another word. Because whatever you say now, it won't fix what you broke."
For the first time, Jossy looked truly guilty, his lips parting as if he wanted to call her name, to pull her back. But she didn't wait.
She turned and ran, her heart pounding, her tears blinding her vision.
⸻
Pamela collapsed onto her bed that night, the walls of her hostel closing in. Her friends tried to comfort her, but their words were distant, muffled. All she could hear was Lilly's cruel whisper and Jossy's silence.
The balloons she had tied, the cake she had baked they meant nothing now. All of it, wasted.
For the first time, Pamela understood what it meant to break.
And as she stared at her phone, Jossy's name flashing across the screen in a call she refused to answer, a chilling thought slid into her mind:
If he could betray me this easily, what else was he hiding?