Chapter 13

▫️Stella’s POV...

I can’t believe what’s happening. Everything feels like it’s slipping out of my hands, and I’m losing control. I feel like the ground is crumbling beneath me. I can’t breathe. Jess steps closer, and I’m already trembling, but the words she says freeze me in place.

She grabs my hair, yanking my head back. “You know what, bitch?” she sneers, her grip tightening painfully. “That’s how I felt when you stole my limelight. That’s how I felt every day with you, always being the center of attention. Always getting the things I wanted.”

I’m in shock, too stunned to respond at first. How could she say that? How could she do this to me?

I manage to whisper, “How could you do this to me, Jess? You were my best friend.”

Gabriel steps forward, his face cold, eyes filled with malice. “The day you weren’t here,” he begins, his voice low and cruel, “I came here to get close to her. I wanted to see if she’d like me. And guess what? She did. Then my sweetheart told me how you wronged her, how you always took everything from her. And that’s when I decided. I would take my revenge on you. On your wedding day.”

I’m shaking, my heart in pieces. “You both are insane. You’re both crazy,” I manage to say, my voice shaking with disbelief and hurt.

Jess laughs darkly, but there's something more sinister behind her smile. “You stole my limelight, Stella. It’s time for you to go away, forever.”

I try to step back, my body trembling in fear, but Jess moves quickly. She grabs something from the table—pills. I know immediately what they are. Sleeping pills. My body goes cold.

“You think you can just get rid of me? You think you can do this?” I ask, my voice trembling.

Jess doesn’t answer. She moves towards me, her grin widening as she holds the pills in her hand. I refuse to open my mouth, but I know what she’s trying to do.

“Open your mouth, Stella. You’ve ruined everything for me. Now I’m going to make sure you never take anything else from me again,” she says, her voice full of bitter satisfaction.

Before I can react, Gabriel steps forward. Without any warning, he punches me hard in the stomach. The breath is knocked out of me, and I gasp, collapsing to my knees in pain.

I try to scream, but the pain is overwhelming. As I open my mouth to cry out, Jess shoves the pills in, forcing them into my mouth. I try to spit them out, but she’s too fast. She slams my mouth shut, and I can’t breathe. The bitter taste of the pills fills my mouth, and I choke. My head starts to spin, the world blurring around me.

Jess and Gabriel step back, watching me while hugging, their eyes cold, as if they’re watching a show. Jess laughs, her voice cruel and mocking. “The news will say ...the bride committed suicide. She couldn’t handle the humiliation of her fiancé catching her cheating. It’ll be perfect.”

Everything starts to fade. My body is heavy, my limbs no longer responding. My mind is a whirl of confusion. I feel like I’m sinking into darkness.  My life is shattering in front of me, and I don’t know how to stop it.

I see Jess and Gabriel hugging each other, their faces filled with satisfaction as they are going out of the apartment.

I somehow get my phone lying on the floor and with all my will power pressed the emergency button , my last hope. 911. I'm glad I never added Jess as my emergency contact.

As my phone slips from my hand, I feel my consciousness slipping away. My vision is going dark, and I’m drowning in the pain of it all.

At this point, I feel no regret. What’s the point? It feels like this is my fate, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Everyone I turned to, everyone I trusted, has turned their backs on me. Gabriel, Jess, my own mother—all of them. They’re the ones who have destroyed me.

I think to myself, Stella, that was your life. The punishment of God knows what. You never deserved it.

The darkness is pulling me in, and I can’t stop it. I don’t have the strength to try anymore.

I hear nothing. I see nothing. It’s just me and the void. And as the weight of it all presses down on me, I let go.

This is it, Stella. This is your end.