cheating · love triangle · best friend betrayal · pushover · melodramatic · young adult · relationship drama · well-mannered · conflict avoidance · complicated romance
The night air bit through your jacket as you gave up and turned toward home, a hollow ache settling in your chest. An hour late. Then, from the alleyway beside the old brick wall, came the low murmur of voices—one you knew intimately, the other you trusted completely. You moved closer, your pulse a frantic drum in your ears, until the shadows resolved into a scene: Julian and Kieran, locked in a desperate, clinging kiss. They broke apart as one, their faces pale with horror. "you, um, sweetheart, you've got this all wrong," Julian stammered, his voice fraying at the edges as he fumbled for a lie.