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The air inside the Royal Hotel lounge was thick with the scent of expensive perfume and floor wax. Situated just a stone's throw from the neon-lit supermarket, the hotel's gold-trimmed lobby felt like a gilded cage.
Gabriella sat alone at a corner table, her long black silk dress spilling over the velvet chair like spilled ink. Around her neck, a blood-red ruby pendant glowed under the dim light —a heavy, cold weight against her skin. She swirled her sober drink, her eyes tracing the bubbles. She was exhausted; the kind of tired that reaches into your bones after months of plotting a downfall.
The heavy glass doors swung open. Dona walked in, but the usual spark in her eyes was extinguished. Her face was a mask of stone, devoid of her signature dimpled smile. She slumped into the chair beside Gabriella.
"Finally... after that long fight... you win," Dona whispered.
Gabriella didn't smile. She didn't feel like a champion. "Yes," she murmured, her voice hollow. "But I can't feel the victory. There's something heavy in my heart. Now that my enemy is down... I just feel empty." She took another slow sip.
Dona let out a jagged, painful chuckle. Her eyes were rimmed with red. "Me too. Something is heavy in me, too."
Gabriella's heart sank. She reached out, grabbing Dona's shoulder firmly. "What happened? Dona, look at me."
Dona's voice broke. "He doesn't love me."
Gabriella remembered then—Dona had gone to confess her feelings tonight. The love she had nurtured in secret for so long.
"He said... he just wants me as a friend," Dona scoffed, wiping a stray tear with the back of her hand. Gabriella pulled her into a tight hug, feeling her friend tremble. "How can I? I told him I can't just be a friend..."
"Let him go," Gabriella whispered, tapping Dona's back gently. "One-sided love is more painful than you can imagine. Leave him in the past."
"Are you saying that because you have experience in it?"
The cold, sharp voice sliced through the air. Standing by the entrance that led toward the supermarket doorway was Lara. She stood tall in a sweeping gown, her silhouette framed by the streetlights outside.
Gabriella and Dona froze.
"Gabby... why is she here?" Dona whispered, her eyes wide.
Gabriella stood up, a dark smirk playing on her lips. "She got her memory back, Dona. She isn't the 'Lara' who used to be our friend anymore."
Lara stepped into the light, her expression mocking. "True. But we should be allies, Gabriella. We can destroy our enemies together."
"Since when?" Gabriella scoffed, her eyes flaring with outrage. "You never believed in me! You said it yourself!"
"Don't get emotional," Lara said, her voice like ice. "I didn't believe you before...but not now ."
Gabriella walked right up to her, her heels clicking sharply on the marble. She poked Lara's shoulder with a defiant finger. "I've already had my revenge. My enemy is gone. I don't need—or want—to be your ally. Come on, Dona. We're leaving."
As they brushed past, Lara's voice dropped to a lethal low. "Wait. I was right... you are selfish."
Gabriella stopped dead.
"Ajax misunderstood you," Lara continued, her eyes narrowing. "He actually defended you to me. He told me you didn't betray us. And yet..."
At the mention of Ajax, Dona's eyes wavered, her breath hitching.
"I didn't betray anyone!" Gabriella hissed, turning back.
Lara stepped into Gabriella's personal space. "But now that your revenge is done, you're just walking away? You don't care about the other students? The ones still being bullied while you play the martyr? Is that your real character, Gabriella? A girl who only cares about her own grudge?"
"You don't know her!" Dona stepped forward, defending her friend. "Do you have any idea what she lost on this path? Everything she sacrificed?"
Lara just laughed—a dry, cruel sound.
Gabriella grabbed Dona's hand, her gaze locked onto Lara's. Her eyes didn't flinch. "I still won't be your ally. I can't partner with someone who never had faith in me."
She turned her back on Lara and walked toward the exit, Dona following close behind.
Lara stood in the center of the lobby, her face twisted in a silent rage. Suddenly, her phone began to ring in her clutch. She looked at the screen, but didn't answer.
Back at the supermarket entrance, the air was cold. Ajax stepped into the light, his expression unreadable. Lara, standing tall in her sleeveless gown, turned to him with a frozen stare.
"She rejected the alliance," Lara said, her voice sharp. "You're a fool, Ajax. You believe her every single time, and every time, she walks away."
Ajax didn't flinch. "What happened? Tell me exactly what she said."
Before Lara could answer, a car screeched to a halt nearby. Ronnie stepped out, freezing in his tracks when he saw them together. His face darkened.
"Why are you with him?" Ronnie asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous level.
Ajax, ever casual, didn't bother explaining. He simply nodded and walked past into the night. Lara forced a smile, though her heart was racing. "We were just talking, Ronnie. It was a coincidence."
Ronnie's eyes narrowed. He stepped closer, taking off his heavy coat and draping it over Lara's bare, shivering shoulders.
"How did you even know I was here?" Lara asked, clutching the coat.
"I have a tracking app," Ronnie said, his voice softening with a mix of concern and control. "It shows your live location"
Lara eyes stared at him," But,Why? "
"I've had it on your phone since you lost your memory... for your safety."Ronnie replied.
Lara's eyes softened for a moment, touched by the gesture, but then she turned her gaze to otherside and remembered the chaos. "Did you know about Raina?"
Ronnie paused, adjusting the coat around her. "She got arrested," he said, a flicker of worry crossing his face.
"I know it's hard for you," Lara whispered, looking into his eyes. "She's your friend." Ronnie didn't speak; he only gave a slow, somber nod.
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In the Car: The Real Truth
Inside the car, the silence was finally broken. Dona sat in the passenger seat, her mind spinning.
"Gabriella," Dona started, her voice hesitant.
"Thanks, Dona," Gabriella interrupted, her eyes fixed on the road. "Without that last-minute info you gave me, I never would have succeeded. My revenge would have failed."
Dona gave a small, sad smile. "Don't thank me. That's what friends do." She paused, biting her lip. "Gabby... what do you really think about Ajax?"
Gabriella smiled—a genuine one this time. "He helped me so much with the plan today, Dona. Even when Lara tried to stop him. He stood by me."
Dona's breath hitched. "But Gabby, I was trying to say—"
"He's a good friend," Gabriella said firmly.
Dona went quiet. Just a friend? she thought.
"I forgot to tell you," Gabriella continued, her voice turning cold. "Everything is connected. Lara has her memory back. And Ajax? He's Kevin's friend. He hid that from us the whole time."
Dona gasped, leaning back into the leather seat. "He's Kevin's friend? He lied to us?"
Gabriella nodded grimly. "And there's more. Jake and I broke up. I was a fool to ever believe him. He was always working against me, secretly judging my path."
Dona shocked. " What? "
"What exactly happened between you two?" Dona asked in a low whisper.
Gabriella let out a dry, hollow chuckle that didn't reach her eyes. "I'll tell you later. It's too much for tonight."
She took a deep, shaky breath, the weight of the revenge finally settling on her. Dona looked out the window at the blurred city lights, her heart heavy with a new, bitter realization.
"All boys are cunning," Dona whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of heartbreak and rage. "They are just using us, aren't they?"
Gabriella looked at Dona, the reflection of the red ruby glowing in her eyes, but she didn't disagree.
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To be Continued.....
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