Pamela thought she had already felt the sharpest edge of heartbreak. She thought the night at the court was the worst it could get. She was wrong.
The following week dragged like heavy chains. Whispers followed her wherever she went. In the cafeteria, in the lecture hall, even in the hostel corridors. People looked at her with pity, and she hated it. She hated that everyone seemed to know. That everyone had seen the way Jossy looked at Lilly, and the way Lilly smiled back. She was the girl who had been left behind, the girl who had been replaced, the girl who was stupid enough not to see it sooner.
Pamela sat at the back of the lecture hall one afternoon, her notebook open but untouched. The lecturer's voice was a blur. All she could think of was how easy it had been for Lilly to stand beside her, to laugh with her, to share secrets with her, all while reaching for the boy she thought she had. Every memory twisted into something bitter. Every smile they had shared now felt poisoned.
Her phone buzzed on the desk. Ken's name lit up the screen. She hesitated, then picked up.
"Pamela," his voice was careful, low, as though he already knew how fragile she was. "Can we talk?"
She swallowed hard. "What about?"
There was silence, then a sigh. "About you. About everything."
Pamela closed her eyes. She wanted to say no, to shut everyone out, to drown in her own pain until it numbed her. But something in Ken's tone held her still. He wasn't like Jossy. He wasn't like Lilly. He had no reason to lie.
"Fine," she whispered. "Where?"
They met by the quiet gardens behind the library, a place students rarely visited. Pamela wrapped her arms around herself, not from the chill, but from the weight she carried inside.
Ken was already there, leaning against the bench. When he saw her, he straightened quickly, almost nervously. "Thanks for coming."
Pamela nodded, avoiding his eyes. "Say what you want to say."
Ken studied her, his expression tight. "You look like you haven't slept."
She let out a humorless laugh. "Observant as always."
"Pam," he said softly, "you don't deserve this. Not any of it."
Her throat burned. "Then why does it feel like I do? Why does it feel like I was the fool who didn't see what was right in front of her?"
"Because you trusted," Ken replied firmly. "And trust isn't weakness. They're the ones who broke it, not you."
Pamela finally looked at him. His eyes didn't hold pity, only something steady, something she wasn't sure she deserved. "You sound so sure."
"I am," he said simply. "And I wish you could see yourself the way I do."
The words caught her off guard. For a moment, she couldn't breathe. There was something unspoken in his gaze, something warm that made her chest ache in a different way. Not the sharp sting of betrayal, but the quiet ache of being seen.
Pamela looked away quickly, blinking back tears. "Ken… don't."
He didn't push. He only nodded, as if he understood. "I just needed you to know. You're stronger than you think, Pamela. And one day, you won't even remember what it felt like to cry over Jossy."
She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe the cracks in her heart could ever heal. But right now, they were still bleeding.
Later that night, Pamela returned to her room to find Lilly sitting on her bed, casually scrolling through her phone as though nothing had happened. The sight made Pamela's skin crawl.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Lilly smiled sweetly. "This is still my room too, remember?"
Pamela's fists clenched. "You have no shame."
"Please," Lilly scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Stop acting like the victim. Jossy was never yours. He was mine first. And deep down, you know it."
Pamela's chest burned. "Then why pretend to be my friend? Why lie? Why act like you cared?"
"Because," Lilly said with a shrug, "it was easier. And honestly, you were never competition. Not really."
The words cut like glass. Pamela felt her entire body tremble, but she forced herself to stay upright. "One day, Lilly, you'll regret this. You'll regret losing a friend who would have done anything for you."
Lilly only smirked, her eyes glinting. "We'll see."
That night, Pamela lay awake long after Lilly had fallen asleep, her mind racing. Betrayal had already broken her once. But as she stared at the ceiling, something inside her shifted. She realized she couldn't keep living in the shadow of their lies. If Jossy and Lilly thought they had destroyed her, they were wrong.
She wasn't broken glass scattered on the floor. She was fire, and fire always found a way to burn brighter after the darkness.
Pamela turned her face to the window, the moonlight spilling across her bed. Somewhere out there, a new chapter was waiting for her. She didn't know what it would look like, or who she would become. But she knew one thing for certain.
She would never let them define her story again.
The next morning, when Pamela walked into class, Ken was waiting by the door. His eyes met hers, steady and unreadable, and for the first time, Pamela wondered if her broken heart was about to find something unexpected in the shadows.