Elara’s knees gave way. She sank to the floor, the cold hardwood biting through her thin jeans. The number of times he had needed her help flashed through her mind. The “emergency” car repairs that never happened, the “essential” textbooks he never bought, the “can’t miss” investment opportunity he had needed a “small loan” for. She even had to take extra shifts at the diner, skipped meals, pawned the last nice thing she owned ‘her foster mother’s silver locket’ all for him. She had nothing left. Absolutely nothing.

And all he felt was a ‘guilt almost adorable’?.

The bathroom door opened, steam billowing out. Adrian emerged, a towel slung low around his waist, his skin flushed from the heat. His eyes immediately found her, crumpled on the floor, his phone clutched in her white-knuckled hand.

For a single moment, she hoped to see guilt, or anything similar. But instead, his gaze faltered, the usual love look in his eyes is swiftly replaced by a cold look as he assessed the situation.

“Elara,” he sighed, as if she were a child who had drawn on the walls. “What are you doing?”

She broke down, stuttering. “You… and Chloe? For months?” Her voice was a ragged tear. “Why? And my money? You’ve been taking my money, all for her?”

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even flinch. He walked over to his dresser, pulled out his clothes with an annoying calmness. “I knew you wouldn’t understand. You’re so… simple, Elara. You see everything in black and white.”

“Understanding?” she choked out, tears streaming down her face now, hot and embarrassing. She tried to wipe them away angrily, “You lied to me! You used me! You let me think you loved me!”

He turned to her, fully dressed now, his expression cold, “Love is a transaction, Elle. We both provided a service of adoration, convenience, and funding. Well that service is no longer required.”

The words were so cold, so utterly devoid of any human feeling, that they sucked the air from her chest. This wasn’t the hot, passionate, ambitious boy she had fallen for. This was a stranger.

“How can you say that?” she whispered.

“Because it’s the truth.” He shrugged. “It’s over. You should go.”

As she stumbled to her feet, numb and disbelieving, the front door opened and Chloe walked in, holding a coffee cup.

“Hi Ellie” Chloe smiled, reaching to hug her but paused, noting the tears on Elara’s cheeks. Turning to face Adrain, he gave a soft subtle smile and nodded.

“Really?” She asked, looking… triumphant?

“Yes love” Adrian replied

“Oh, good,” Chloe said, her voice sweet as poisoned honey. She held her takeout coffee cup in one hand and dropped her keys into a ceramic bowl by the door with a familiar clink. “So this is the confrontation scene. I’ve been hoping I would not miss it.”

“You…” Elara breathed, her gaze darting between Adrian’s cold indifference look and Chloe’s gloating smile. “You were my best friend.”

Chloe’s smile widened. “You’re so stupid, it’s funny,” She paused and took a slow sip of her coffee, her eyes never leaving Elara’s. “I was never your friend, Elara. I’ve hated you since the day we met.”

The declaration hung in the air, stark and absolute terror. Elara felt the words like physical blows.

“What?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“You heard me,” Chloe said, stepping further into the room, her hips swaying with a hand on it. “From the very first day we met in freshman orientation. You were sitting alone, looking so lost and sad, and everyone around you was practically tripping over themselves to help you. ‘Oh, poor Elara, her foster parents died, she’s all alone in the world.’ It was so nauseating. Bleh!.”

Elara could only stare, her mind reeling. That day was etched in her memory as a moment of kindness, a memory she had always held dear as the day she met Chloe. Chloe had been the one to approach her, to offer her a smile and a seat.

“That simpering, ‘poor little me’ act,” Chloe continued, her voice dripping with venom. “You're like a vacuum. You suck all the light and attention into your little black hole of need. You think people genuinely like you? They just feel sorry for you. They pity you. And you lap it up like a starving kitten.”

“I—I…” Elara stuttered

“I—I…” Chloe laughed, mimicking her. “Choose your words clearly and get the fuck out”

“But… why?” Elara managed to ask, her throat tight. “Why be my friend at all?”

Adrian answered instead, leaning against the doorframe to his bedroom as if watching a mildly interesting play. “Because it was useful. Having you trust her meant she would know everything about you. Your schedule, your insecurities and all, especially your financial situation.” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “It made it all so much easier.”

“Easier for what?” Elara demanded, a spark of anger finally cutting through the numbness.

“For this,” Chloe said, spreading her hands across the room. “For making you pay for our needs.”

The casual cruelty was heartbreaking for Elara. She looked at Adrian, a desperate plea in her eyes. “And you? Was any of it real? Even for a second?”

He met her gaze, his own utterly blank. “I told you, Elara. It was a transaction. You were convenient. Now you’re not.” He nodded towards the door. “Get out. And don’t bother causing a scene. No one will believe you anyway.”