~{Chapter 5} GG Bitches~
The picture dropped on a Sunday afternoon.
I knew because my phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
At first, I ignored it. I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, half asleep, trying not to think about anything. Then my screen lit up again. And again. Group chats. Mentions. Unknown numbers sending texts.
I sat up.
The GossipGirls Gang had posted.
Not a video. Not yet. Just a picture.
It was blurry. Crooked. Taken from far away. Two figures sitting on a bench, our bench. Close enough to look suspicious, for people to fill in whatever story they wanted. The caption read,
"—Friends don't usually look at each other like that—"
My chest tightened.
I didn't need to read the comments. I already knew how they'd go. Speculations. Laughing emojis. People pretending to be shocked. Some pretending to care.
My first instinct wasn't panic.
It was Liya.
I grabbed my bag and left the house without thinking.
⸻
I arrived at Liya's house, it was my first time there. The gatekeeper knew who I was so I didn't need to explain much. He just opened the gate and let me in. I found her sitting on a porch bench at the garden by the side of their mansion, phone in hand. She looked up when she heard my footsteps approaching, and for a second, something crossed her face, fear, maybe. Or guilt.
"They posted," I said.
"I know."
Of course she did.
"They're probably going to make a video," i continued. "They don't post teasers for nothing."
She nodded, lips pressed together. "I know."
That was all she said.
I waited.
She didn't add anything.
"Are you going to say something?" I asked.
Her shoulders tensed. "What do you want me to say, Maya..??"
I exhaled sharply. "I don't know. Anything. That this is going to be a problem. That you're not just going to disappear."
She looked down at her hands.
That was the answer.
"I have to go," she said quietly, standing up and straightening her dress. "Pee'Nong's coming to pick me up, we have a date."
There it was.
"Right," I muttered. "Of course."
She hesitated, like she wanted to say something more, but didn't.
Then she walked off.
I stood there feeling stupid for coming in the first place.
⸻
After that, the distance became official.
She stopped picking me up before and after class. Stopped coming with me for lunch. Still stole glances at me sometimes, but only when she thought I wasn't looking. Our texts turned dry.
Busy.
Can't talk right now.
Later?
But the laters never came.
Once, I caught her staring at me from across the hallway. When our eyes met, she looked away immediately. Like she'd been caught doing something wrong, maybe she had.
The GG gang didn't post a video yet, but their presence lingered everywhere. Jasmine passed by me one afternoon and smirked like she knew something I didn't.
Or something we were too scared to say out loud.
By the end of the week, I stopped reaching out.
Not because I didn't care.
But because I was tired of being the only one standing still while she kept stepping back.
If this was her way of choosing safety, then fine.
I just wished she'd had the decency to say it to my face.
______
Weeks passed, and whatever we had kept getting worse.
Our texts went from dry to nonexistent. I stopped seeing her altogether, even by accident. Sometimes I'd pass by her faculty on purpose, sit nearby pretending to wait for someone, just hoping to catch a glimpse of her. But it felt like she always knew, and she always avoided me.
That hurt the most.
The days went by as usual. Boring. Dry. Painful. Lectures took forever to end. I was just there, barely surviving, feeling empty and alone. It was crazy how I was fine before she came, Now, it felt like I'd unlocked a new level of emptiness.
I got home one evening and collapsed onto my bed. The world felt unusually loud, or maybe it was just my thoughts. I closed my eyes, tried to shut everything off.
It didn't work.
Her face refused to leave my mind.
______
"—Miss Maya," the maid called softly from outside my door, pulling me out of my spiral.
"—your father has asked me to remind you of the private launch gala tomorrow night, he says you should cancel every personal plan as you're expected to be present.." she concluded and left.
I exhaled slowly, frustration settling deep in my chest. The thought of me having to be in an environment I dreaded so much made my throat tighten. I was this close to crying.
Then it hit me..
Liya would be there.
____
The drive to Aurum Royale Heights was the most awkward one I'd had in years. It had been a long time since I'd shared a car ride with both my parents.
The silence felt heavy, suffocating.
When we arrived, security opened the doors and I stepped out, heading straight for the entrance.
The hall was packed. People in suits and dresses, models posing at every corner, wearing pieces from Chai Luxury Atelier and Sĩrĩ Navari. Cameras flashed from every direction. Champagne glasses clinked. Small talks here and there.
I walked in feeling out of place, unsure of what to do, who to talk to, or what to say. It was so painfully obvious I didn't belong here.
A waiter passed by with a tray of wine. I took a glass and retreated toward a less crowded corner, hoping to disappear.
That's when I saw her.
Liya stood among the crowds, chatting, smiling, waving, shaking hands. She wore a cream silk dress with an open back. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, soft strands framing her face.
Beside her stood her boyfriend Nongpum. Chatting quietly. Protective, in the way boyfriends usually are. He looked charming, but that was just it. The moment she looked up and our eyes met, she stiffened. For half a second, it was as if she'd seen a ghost.
Then she looked away.
no wave, no smile.
Just turning quickly to blend back into the crowd.
_____
"—hi loner.."
I turned, it was Santa.
"Hey.." I replied flatly.
He pulled out a seat next to me and sat down.
"A glass of paper plane please.." he told the bartender.
He glanced at me.
"_why are you here alone, no friends..??"
"—well, the only one I had just woke up one morning and decided she didn't want to be friends anymore.." I said "—so yeah.."
He hummed. "you decided to have just one. So that's what you get. Maybe give someone else a chance too.."
I turned to look at him. To really look at him. He was handsome. Really freaking handsome. He looked like Liya's mirror image, only, darker haired, sharper, more masculine.
"—could that someone else perhaps be you..??" I asked in a teasing tone.
The way his smile widened gave me my answer. The DJ switched to slow jazz. Santa asked for a dance, the normal me would've turned him down, but maybe I was just too tipsy. Or maybe too tired and wanted an escape.
I nodded and took his hands.
A few minutes into the dance, my stomach and cheeks hurt from how hard I'd been laughing. Santa was a terrible dancer, and I was even worse. We kept stepping on each other's toes, completely offbeat. It was fun, so much so that I almost forgot all my problems. For the first time in weeks, my chest felt lighter.
Then my eyes drifted and locked with Liya's.
The world around us went quiet.
The woman staring back at me didn't look like the Liya I knew. The usual cheerful, always smiley Liya. She looked pale, drained, jaw clenched. Her smile gone. She stood at a wine bar across from us, eyes sharp enough to pierce through metal, her grip on her wine glass was so tight I could've sworn I saw a crack. Nongpum stood beside her, yapping about something I knew damn well she wasn't listening to. Then she excused herself and walked away.
I didn't think, I couldn't.
I just followed.
_____
I found her on the balcony. She stood near the railing, both hands gripping the cold metal, head lowered, breathing slow, too controlled, like she was holding herself together by sheer force. The city lights stretched endlessly below us, blurred by glass and distance. The balcony doors reflected my figure first, then her eyes met mine.
She froze.
For a second, neither of us moved.
The air was cool, carrying distant music and laughter from the hall behind us.
"You shouldn't be here," she said finally, voice low.
"Funny," I replied. "I was about to say the same thing."
She straightened up, turning to face me fully. Her expression was composed, too composed, the kind people wear when they're one breath away from breaking.
"You should go back inside," she said. "People will notice."
I laughed softly. It came out bitter. "You care about that now..??"
Her jaw tightened. "Maya..."
"No," I cut in. "You don't get to say my name like you didn't just erase me."
It all went Silent.
She looked away first, out over the city.
"That's not fair," she said.
I stepped closer. "Why'd you do that? Mm..?? For weeks now, I've been trying to defend you avoiding me. Fear, protection, anything. But none of it works. You just shut me out, with no warning. I feel emptier now than before I met you..,"
I took deep breath.
"—I need you in order to function properly Liya. I don't know why or how, but I do now..."
She swallowed.
"__ is that why you chose to flirt and do all that with him..??" She said quietly, almost inaudibly.
I blinked. Of all the things she could've said, that was it?
"So?" I shot back. "You brought your boyfriend."
Her eyes flickered, hurt, anger, something else she didn't want me to see.
"That is different..."
I scoffed. "Of course it is..."
She turned away again, fingers tightening around the railing.
"I told you I had to be careful."
"No you didn't," I said. "You told me nothing. You just... disappeared."
Her shoulders sagged slightly.
"I was scared," she admitted.
That stopped me.
"Of what..??" I asked, softer now. "Of them..?? Or what exactly..??"
She didn't answer right away.
Then, barely above a whisper, she said,
"Of losing everything."
Something cracked in my chest.
"So you choose to lose me instead...??"
"I didn't choose him over you," she said quickly. "That's not...."
"Then what did you choose, Liya?" I asked. "Because from where I was standing, it felt pretty clear."
She finally looked at me. Her eyes glossy, red-rimmed, Tired.
"__I chose survival Maya," she said. "You don't know what it's like for me. One rumor, just one and everything will be ruined. My family, your family,the company. Our future. Everything is at stake right now..."
"So what about me..?? What do I do then..??" I asked
Her voice broke "that's exactly the problem.."
We stared at each other. I couldn't tell whose heart was beating louder, hers or mine.
"I'm sorry," she said. Breaking the almost deafening silence. "I shouldn't have started this. I let my emotions take over, and now I don't know how to fix it. This was a mistake. I was careless, and I'm sorry."
Everything inside me shattered.
"So I'm a mistake....!!" I said, the words cracked as they left my mouth.
"No—Maya you know that's not__,"
Behind us, the music swelled as the balcony door opened briefly, then closed again. Cutting her short.
She hesitated.
She wiped her face, steadying herself. "You should go back inside," she said. "Before someone notices you're gone."
I scoffed. My throat tightening.
"Yeah I should." Was all I could mutter.
I turned and went back inside without looking back. My head ached, the room spinning around me. I couldn't stay there anymore.
So I just headed straight for the exit.
called a cab and went home.