Joanne's POV

It was my birthday.

After Derek’s childhood friend smashed a cake into my face, covering me from head to toe in frosting, I looked him straight in the eye.

“I want to break up,” I said, barely holding it together.

The hand he had extended to help his precious childhood sweetheart wipe off the whipped cream finally froze in midair.

That was it. A flicker. A pause.

The only reaction I got.

Then Derek glanced at me with disapproval.

"Joanne, do you seriously have to kill the mood right now?" he said, annoyed.

I looked at Derek, standing shoulder to shoulder with Melody, and all I felt was exhaustion. Not anger or shock, just a deep, bone-deep tiredness.

I wiped the frosting off my face and said calmly, "Derek, I really don't think there's any point anymore. Let's just end it."

——

That got Derek's attention.

He caught up to me and grabbed my wrist, his whole attitude turning cold and defensive.

"Joanne, Melody was just messing around! Do you really have to blow this out of proportion and start talking about breaking up?"

My face was smeared with cream, and my carefully done makeup and hair were completely ruined. Even the moment I had been looking forward to, which was blowing out the candles, was now just a joke.

I found myself laughing at my own anger, pulling my hand away from Derek.

"I'm not joking," I said firmly. "Derek, I'm dead serious. I don't want to be with you anymore. Let's break up."

I didn't want to stay in that room for another second. I couldn't stand to look at either of them. I just wanted to escape this suffocating place.

But of course, Melody had to follow me, stepping in front of the door and blocking my way.

"Joanne, don't be such a stuck-up. It was really just a joke. Derek and I have always been like this. We've been close since we were kids. I mean, cake fights at birthday parties are totally normal, right? No one actually takes it seriously. I thought you saw us as family, too, so I figured you'd be fine with it."

Melody made it seem like I was overreacting and being overly dramatic, while portraying herself as the wronged party, joking only because we're close. She used guilt to manipulate me. If I didn't back off, I'd seem unreasonable, and it worked every time.

Whenever she pulled this stunt in the past, I was the one who had to suppress my anger and keep a smile on my face.

But now, I didn't want to play along anymore.

Just as she looked at me, fully expecting me to fold like I always do, I bent down, grabbed a handful of whipped cream from my shirt, and threw it right at her.

"If it's all in good fun, let's all join in."

But before it could land, Derek stepped in like a bodyguard. He took the hit to his chest and moved in front of her as if I had thrown a rock, not cake.

Derek glared at me fiercely, as if I had crossed an unforgivable line.

"Joanne, are you insane?!"

Right after he said that, he yanked my wrist again, this time harder, and shoved me aside. I stumbled. The back of my head hit the wall with a dull thud. I raised my hand, pressing my palm against the growing ache, trying to stay upright when I heard him start yelling.

"Melody came out to apologize, and you're still making a scene? You just need everyone else to be miserable so you can feel better, is that it?"

Rubbing the back of my sore head, I looked up.

Derek stood in front of Melody like she was some fragile flower that needed constant protection.

God, I felt like laughing.

Even though I had long recognized the distorted nature of our relationship, his open favoritism still struck me like a punch to the chest in that moment.

"Derek..."

I tried to keep my voice steady, even as my chest tightened.

I didn't want to let my emotions show, but the cold look in Derek's eyes broke something inside me.

"Can't you at least try to be fair? Today is my birthday. Mine. All I wanted was to blow out some candles and make a wish. Instead, your so-called childhood friend smashed a whole cake into my face. And when you saw I was upset, you didn't even blink. You just laughed and called it a joke, because it was her."

I looked him straight in the face and asked directly, "If it was really just a joke, then why can't I joke back?"

Joanne's POV

"Because you knew she got all dressed up today to look pretty and steal the spotlight! You knew she would've cried if she ended up covered in frosting, and you couldn't bear to see that happen! That's why you didn't want...no, you flat-out refused to let Melody be humiliated."

I felt a tightness in my chest as I poured out the words I always wanted to ask.

"What about me, Derek? I'm your damn girlfriend! Do I deserve this?!"

Tears were already streaming down my cheeks, hot and relentless. They mixed with the sticky frosting smeared across my face.

I probably looked like a total wreck, but I didn't care anymore. Derek was my boyfriend. The man I'd loved for five years, the one who'd told me he wanted to marry me and build a future with me, had just stood there while his childhood friend shoved a cake in my face as if it was a joke. And just like that, I was replaced, ignored, and pushed aside like I was some side character in my own relationship.

Why?

Why the hell did it have to be like this?!

I yelled, demanding that Derek give me something to understand this.

I kept asking if loving him meant I agreed to be hurt like this.

Was that the trade-off?

Was this my punishment for trusting him?

For a moment, I saw a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but he remained still. Because, of course, Melody had already stepped forward, ready to play her part. The perfect little victim that she was, her eyes were red as if she'd been crying too.

"Joanne, I didn't know you hated me that much," she said, soft as glass. "I never thought of you as a rival. I really hoped we'd get along. Even if you and Derek ever broke up, I still wanted us to be friends."

Melody stayed just a few feet away, pretending to hesitate as if she were afraid to come closer to me. The whole scene was so rehearsed that it made my skin crawl.

She bit her lip as if it meant something, then finally took a slow step toward me.

"If you really need to let it out, I'm okay if you smear me with the cream. I won't get mad like you did. I'll take it as you being playful. If it helps you feel better, then I'll accept it."

Melody then reached out and grabbed my wrist, trying to get me to smear the cake frosting all over her pretty face.

But the second her fingers touched mine, I jerked my hand away and snapped at her.

"Get the hell away from me!"

That was enough to push Derek over the edge. He rushed to Melody to help her steady herself, then turned to face me, his face flushed with anger.

"Joanne, what the fuck is wrong with you?!

His eyes were wild as he glared at me.

"I'm telling you right now, apologize to Melody. Or I'll never forgive you!"

I raised my eyebrow as I sneered. "Apologize? Are you serious, Derek?"

I looked at Derek, then at Melody, curled up in his arms like a delicate flower. It was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh. Still laughing, I raised my cream-coated hand and gave a sharp slap across Derek's face.

"You want me to apologize? You really think you deserve that?"

And just like that, I turned around and walked away.

I didn't care what they yelled behind me, I didn't care if they were crying, and I didn't care about whatever crazy drama happened in that room after I left.

All I could feel was this raging, raw pain swirling in my chest like a storm I couldn't outrun. By the time I finally got home, my whole body was shaking.

Just when I thought I could finally catch my breath, I realized the water in my apartment had been turned off.

That was it. I broke.

I collapsed onto the couch and lost control. Loud, gut-wrenching sobs that took my breath away. I cried until my voice was gone, until everything inside me felt like it had turned to ash.

And then... my phone buzzed.

A WhatsApp video call.

My best friend's name lit up the screen.

The moment I saw Angela's face, everything I had worked so hard to hold back burst out. The tears came harder than before, and my entire body trembled.

Angela said nothing.

She drove to pick me up, visibly angrier than ever before.

Throughout the drive, she expressed her frustration with Derek, blaming his parents without hesitation.

When we arrived at her place, she didn't hesitate. She quickly took off my ruined, frosting-covered dress and threw it straight into the trash, as if it were radioactive.

Then Angela looked me dead in the eyes and said directly, "Joanne, your life starts over right now. Got it?"

Dressed in her oversized pajamas, standing in the middle of her living room with her arms crossed and a fiery look in her eyes, my best friend seemed ready to burn the entire world down for me.

We exchanged glances for a moment before both of us burst into laughter. And at that moment, everything began to change.

Joanne's POV

I kept telling myself, "Joanne, it's really over this time. You and Derek? Done for good."

To help me move on, Angela threw me a second birthday celebration—one that finally felt like it was truly mine. She booked the largest private room she could find and invited only our people, the ones who actually mattered—the ones who belonged to me, not to him.

The room pulsed with warmth, loud laughter, and a kind of genuine energy I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Everyone was smiling.

Every 'Happy Birthday' came with real emotion and not forced politeness.

For once, it didn't feel performative. It felt right.

We lit the candles.

People took pictures, and some of them turned out to be some of the best photos I've ever had. I chose one of my favorites and posted it on my Instagram feed with a simple caption:

[Life is a long road. I'm learning to look forward.]

Barely a second later, another post popped up.

[Some people are just overly dramatic. Keep that up, and you'll end up with nothing.]

It was from Melody.

Of course, she posted a selfie too.

In the corner of that photo, just barely within the frame, was Derek's silhouette. Apparently, they were still inseparable, still holding on to each other like some twisted version of Romeo and Juliet.

It wasn't until Melody sent me a video on WhatsApp.

In it, someone off-camera joked around, "If both Melody and your girlfriend fell into the water, who would you save?"

And then came Derek's voice, laid-back and casual like it was no big deal. "My girlfriend knows how to swim."

Another voice jumped in right away and asked, "So that means you'd save Melody, huh?"

"Of course," someone laughed. "Melody's always been your number one. Everyone remembers how hard you chased after her back then. Even your names sound like a perfect match. Honestly, Joanne's the one who doesn't fit. She's the third wheel."

And just as expected, Melody chimed in with her usual faux humility, "Okay, okay! Joanne is the official girlfriend. If she hears you joking like this, she's gonna get upset again!"

Then the video ended.

Immediately after, Melody sent a string of emojis.

Then a message:

[Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Joanne, I sent that by mistake. Please don't take it seriously. They were just being silly! Please don't be mad at Derek... or I'll feel really awful.]I watched her carefully crafted act, all fake concern and performative guilt, and in that moment, something clicked.

I wasn't nearly as angry or panicked as I once would have been.

Maybe I really was starting to move on. The cycle of doubt, jealousy, and emotional whiplash had finally come to an end.

Then, another message appeared:

[Joanne, when are you coming back? Derek won't say it, but I know he misses you.]

That was all I needed.

I took screenshots of the whole conversation, her messages, the video, everything, and sent it directly to Derek with just one sentence:

[Control your woman.]

After that, I put my phone away and didn't bother checking WhatsApp again. I just kept singing with my best friend, Angela.

By the end of the night, we were holding each other, crying our hearts out, then laughing until our stomachs hurt.

Everyone said the same thing: "Life moves forward when you decide to take the first step."

Later on, I went on a little getaway with my best friend.

Just as we landed and prepared to go home, a message from Derek appeared:

[Where are the disposable underwear?]

I didn't think much of it and assumed he might have left something behind. I told Angela to wait downstairs in the parking lot while I ran upstairs. I truly believed I'd never see Derek again. We had been broken up for a while, and I bought that apartment with my own money. Even though we had lived there together, once we broke up, he should have moved out. I was completely sure he was gone.

So when I opened the door and saw Melody walking out of the bathroom, I froze..

She blinked, clearly just as stunned. "Joanne…"

Melody was wearing my bathrobe. On her feet were my cotton slippers. Even the towel wrapped around her damp hair was mine. Water droplets slid down her chin, tracing slowly along her collarbone.

And right then, Derek's text finally made sense.

My mind exploded.

I stormed straight into the bedroom and caught Derek rifling through my closet.

A surge of fury boiled up and burst out of me.

I charged straight at him and demanded, "Derek, what the hell are you doing in my apartment?!"