UNEXPECTED LOVE TWIST

Raina Cole's heels clicked against the marble floor of her downtown apartment building lobby as she clutched the takeout bag to her chest. It was almost laughable-she'd worked late again, driven by a last-minute client crisis, but she still stopped to pick up Marcus's favorite pad thai from the place he loved. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration. Her firm had just landed their biggest client yet, and she couldn't wait to share the news.

She unlocked the door quietly, thinking she might surprise him.

The condo smelled of cinnamon and expensive cologne. Odd. The lights were dim, but she could see a trail of a jacket, shoes, and a silk scarf on the floor-none of which were hers.

Her stomach tightened.

She called out, voice steady. "Marcus?"

No answer. The silence stretched like a blade. She walked past the kitchen and into the bedroom, her heart already sinking.

And then she saw them.

Marcus, shirtless. Glory, her best friend since college, in lingerie that Raina had helped her pick out on a shopping trip two weeks ago.

Time stuttered.

For a moment, none of them moved. Then Marcus stood, awkwardly tugging on his pants. Glory didn't even flinch-just sat back against the headboard, eyes cool, almost smug.

"Raina," Marcus started, "this isn't what you think-"

"Don't," she said, voice sharp. Her hands shook. She dropped the takeout on the floor, grease soaking through the bag.

"You've been distant. You never come home before nine. You're obsessed with your job-"

"So you sleep with her?" Raina spat, voice rising. "My best friend?"

Glory finally spoke, voice calm, rehearsed. "You weren't really present anymore, Raina. Maybe you didn't notice, but Marcus needed someone."

Tears threatened, but Raina refused to let them fall-not in front of them. Not tonight.

"Get out," she said, voice low and deadly. "Both of you."

Marcus reached for her, regret flickering in his eyes. "Raina, don't overreact-"

"Get out!"

The door slammed behind them. Silence rushed in like water through a broken dam.

Raina slid to the floor, knees giving out, the chill of the marble tile grounding her as her chest rose and fell in panicked, gasping sobs.

Everything she thought she knew had just shattered.

And the fire was only beginning.

---

By the time the elevator doors closed behind Marcus and Glory, Raina was still frozen on the floor. The smell of spilled noodles and soy sauce mixed with the expensive perfume Glory wore-the kind that lingered like a bruise.

She forced herself to stand, gripping the edge of the kitchen counter. Her reflection in the glass of the microwave startled her-eyes wide and red-rimmed, lips trembling, her hair a halo of disheveled curls. She looked like someone else. Someone she didn't recognize.

She went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on her face, but the sting in her chest remained-a raw ache, sharp and unrelenting. She had fought so hard to build this life. The long nights, the sacrifices, the loyalty. And for what? To be made a fool of by the two people she trusted most?

She reached for her phone, hand trembling, thumb hovering over Sharon's number, then Linda's. But she didn't want comfort. Not yet. The silence had its own gravity, and she was falling.

Her engagement ring glinted under the bathroom light. She stared at it for a long moment before tugging it off and placing it on the sink. It clinked gently against the porcelain-an anticlimactic sound for something that had meant everything.

A laugh bubbled out of her. Bitter. Hollow.

She went back into the living room and grabbed her coat. She couldn't stay here. Not in the space that smelled like betrayal and shared dreams turned to ash.