The Calm Before Revenge

Chapter 1

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First Edition

The Calm Before Revenge

1

I cut my business trip short and came home early. My boyfriend, Tristan, was in my house with another woman.

I knew her—it was Charlie, my best friend.

I was three months pregnant, and we were supposed to get married.

I stared at them, my mind reeling.

I know I’m plain and uninteresting, while Charlie is beautiful, charming, and a law student at an Ivy League school. It’s obvious who any man would choose without a second thought.

But Charlie and I had been friends since elementary school, and Tristan had always seemed so decent. I never imagined they would be involved like this.

I hesitated, unsure if I should interrupt. After all, this seemed like a crucial moment. I was raised not to make things awkward for others—a principle so ingrained in me that even now, with my world crumbling, I felt reluctant to disturb them.

Finally, I decided I had to.

I knocked on the door

frame. “Um… Tristan, isn’t this considered cheating?”

My voice was soft, but it cut sharply through their quiet moans. Tristan flinched and turned around. When he saw me, his eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost.

I coughed awkwardly and looked at Charlie. “How long have we been friends, Charlie? Have I ever treated you badly?”

What I really wanted to ask was, Haven’t I spent years being your sidekick? Isn’t that enough for you to leave my man alone?

But I’ve always avoided making people angry, so the words came out differently.

Charlie didn’t speak, but her eyes told me everything—our years of friendship were over. She was done with me, her loyal supporter, and she wasn’t going to show any mercy.

I bit my lip and took out my phone. Tristan startled again. He climbed out of bed naked and grabbed my wrist. “What are you doing?”

I frowned. “You’re hurting me.”

Only then did he seem to realize his grip. He let go and tried to explain, “Don’t blame Charlie. I was the one who started it.”

“Oh,” I nodded, unsure what else to say.

I’ve always been like this—when things go wrong, I retreat into myself, trying not to feel too angry or too hurt.

My mom used to say I was as dull as a block of wood.

Seeing my lack of reaction, Tristan seemed almost annoyed. As he pulled on his pants, he said, “Since you’ve seen it, I might as well be straight with you: I’m in love with Charlie.”

Chapter 2

Charlie looked deeply moved, wrapped in the sheets, her eyes shining as she gazed at Tristan.

I looked down and pointed to my stomach. “What about the baby?”

Tristan paused, glanced back at Charlie, and said reluctantly, “The laws on birth certificates are pretty flexible now. If you insist on keeping it, you can register it yourself. I’ll pay child support.”

Charlie smirked behind him and added, “I’ve been wanting to tell you—even if you have his child, with your looks, you were never going to hold onto a man like him.”

I sighed and smiled helplessly. “You both make me sound like some kind of parasite, clinging to people and refusing to let go.”

I looked down and continued tapping on my phone. Tristan’s fingers twitched nervously.

Quietly, I said, “Don’t worry, I’m just calling a ride.”

After requesting the ride, I looked up and met Tristan’s eyes seriously. “Tristan, since you have no feelings for me, let’s end things here.”

Both Tristan and Charlie were stunned. Charlie opened her mouth as if she had a whole speech prepared, but now she couldn’t deliver it. She looked utterly frustrated.

After a moment, she managed to say, “At least you know your place. Some things just aren’t meant to be. Maybe you shouldn’t keep the baby, either.”

I nodded, said, “Okay,” and quickly packed my suitcase.

Tristan and Charlie were still in a daze as I wheeled my luggage to the door.

From the moment I knocked to the moment I left, less than ten minutes had passed.

No crying, no yelling—just my usual self: calm, obedient, and wooden.

I opened the door, and Tristan called out, his voice full of confusion, “You’re just leaving like that?”

“Yeah.”

“What about the baby?” He looked even more bewildered.

“I’ll take care of it when the time comes.” I nodded politely, turned, and walked out.

Just before closing the door, I reminded Charlie, “Make sure you break up with your boyfriend properly. Don’t cheat on him.”

2

After I went outside, I bought a popsicle and started eating it.

I like eating popsicles outdoors in winter.

That feeling of intense cold slowly giving way to warmth… it’s a lot like an emotional release—sharp, then soothing.

Biting into the popsicle, I sighed to myself. I’d known all along I couldn’t hold onto Tristan.

Especially after I introduced him to Charlie.

Like Charlie, Tristan was everybody’s ideal child.

Chapter 3

He had the looks, the brains, the promising career—everything my mother wished I were.

Her dream daughter was Charlie; her dream son was Tristan.

They were two of the three giants looming over my life since childhood. Just their shadows were enough to press me down and steal my breath.

Yes, we’d known each other a long time.

Charlie was my elementary school classmate; Tristan was from high school.

They were legends at parent-teacher conferences—the golden kids, the favorites of fate.

It wasn’t until I started “dating” Tristan that these two seemingly unreachable stars finally crossed paths—and sparks flew between them.

Well… I can’t really call it dating.

More like: I used dinner as an excuse and got him to drink three shots of whiskey.

When a man’s drunk enough, anyone starts to look like Scarlett Johansson.

That was the only way I could’ve landed him.

And then, by chance, I got pregnant.

My mom was over the moon.

Even if her own daughter was nothing special, an outstanding son-in-law was still something to brag about.

She personally showed up at Tristan’s workplace and made a scene.

Tristan was a corporate lawyer, up for partnership. The last thing he needed was a scandal.

So my mother schemed hard to secure her son-in-law, while I kept bragging to Charlie about how amazing Tristan was.

She grew curious and wanted to meet him.

I never should’ve agreed. I never should’ve invited them out to eat, not once, not over and over. And I definitely shouldn’t have let Tristan keep driving Charlie home.

All this while Charlie was constantly fighting with her own boyfriend.

And I certainly shouldn’t have told Tristan how popular Charlie was, how many rich guys were chasing after her.

I still remember the competitive glint in Tristan’s eyes then—that eager, hungry look.

I should’ve known—men love competing for a prize.

And now look: they ended up together, and I’m the one slinking back home with my suitcase.

Standing downstairs outside my apartment, I took a deep breath and tossed the popsicle stick into the trash.

There was a medicine bottle in my pocket that looked out of place, so I threw that away too.