After a Year of Secret Romance, My Childhood Friend Persuaded Me to Find Another Man. I Did, and He Regretted It

Olivia has loved Jack, her childhood friend of over twenty years, for as long as she can remember. They live together, share a bed, and do everything couples do, so she believes they are quietly in love. On his birthday, she dresses in lingerie he himself picked out for her, only to be met with disgust: Jack tells her he has a girlfriend now, Sophia, and that Olivia was never anything more than a convenience.

Humiliated, Olivia flees into the cold autumn night, her nose bloodied from a fall, and even loses her fingerprint access to their home. When she returns for her documents, she finds Jack surrounded by their mutual friends, toasting Sophia, who demands he prove his love by announcing in every group chat that Olivia was the one chasing him. As the people who once watched them build a life together look away, Olivia must decide what remains of her dignity.

A story of a love she thought was mutual, and the regret that comes too late.