HAPPILY EVER AFTER… WITHOUT HIM Novel – Mom… about Dad’s words from all those years ago. I’ve made my choice. Tell him to handle the wedding arrangements.” I hung up. The sounds of Sabrina’s birthday party crept back into my awareness, a stark reminder of everything that had gone wrong.
Sabrina—the girl I had once defended from bullies, the one I had trusted as a friend—had quietly stolen everything from me. Nathan, who had once been mine, and Gabriel, my closest companion since childhood, shifted their devotion the instant she entered our lives. They laughed at her jokes, hung on her every word… and eventually, with cruel clarity, told me they loved her instead.
Right in front of me. Then came the dinner. Just the three of us. I thought it might be the chance to repair the damage, to reclaim what was lost. But Sabrina’s cries on the phone about a robbery—her fear, her panic—sent them running. They left me behind. Again. The rain came down in sheets as I wandered, soaked to the bone, alone. Until the car struck me, the world tilting and fading around me. Not one of them had looked back to see if I survived.
I collected myself, packed my belongings, and boarded the plane. My destination: a life away from them. A life with my groom. And before disappearing completely, I sent Nathan and Gabriel one final note. One last truth: My Wedding Invitation. — It was Sabrina’s birthday. My parents’ adopted daughter. The girl I had once called my little sister.
The same girl I’d defended from bullies back in high school, when the four of us—Sabrina, Nathan, Gabriel, and I—were supposed to be a makeshift family. I had genuinely believed I was doing the right thing back then. Helping her would bring us closer. We’d all live under one roof, sharing laughter over dinners. I never imagined she would twist it all against me. Sabrina had always been clever, quietly inserting herself into everything.
At first, she simply tagged along with us—me, Nathan, and Gabriel—but over time, it became something else. Whispering into Nathan’s ear when I wasn’t looking. Making Gabriel laugh in ways that had once belonged solely to me. I told myself not to overthink it. Until the night I saw it. The kiss. It was supposed to be quiet, just me and Nathan—the boy who eventually became my boyfriend—confessing our love. But instead, I caught him pressing his lips to Sabrina’s. I let it slide. Once.
Twice. Too many times. Every time I confronted him, Nathan brushed it off. “You’re imagining things,” he’d say. “She’s like a sister.” Gabriel chimed in, echoing the dismissal. “Stop ruining everything with your jealousy, Elena.” It wasn’t jealousy. It was betrayal. Now, at her birthday party, I watched them laugh and clink glasses like stars of some twisted romantic comedy. Nathan had just taken a shot, tilting the empty glass to Sabrina’s lips, his hand grazing her body as though they belonged together.
My chest tightened. I rose quietly, slipping to one of the guest rooms upstairs. Pulling the blanket over me, I tried to block it all out. Then the door creaked. “Elena?” Sabrina’s voice was false, sweetly concerned. “They’re looking for you downstairs. Fireworks are about to start.” “I’m tired. Leave me alone,” I said. She stepped closer, coaxing. “Come on… it’s my birthday. You’re really going to sulk?” I faced her, voice low, icy. “Sabrina, isn’t it enough that I was forced to be here?” Her frown deepened. “Do you hate me now? You think I stole them from you? That was never my intention.
We were best friends once—” “Stop.” I raised a hand. “Go enjoy your stupid party.” But she grabbed my wrist, pulling. “Come on! It’ll be fun. I’m happy when you’re around—” “Don’t touch me!” I yanked, but her grip only tightened. We toppled backward. Sabrina crashed into the small table by the bed. The vase shattered, glass slicing into our arms and shoulders. Pain flared across my forearm.