**MY BEST FRIEND’S VOICEMAIL REVEALED A SECRET I WASN’T READY TO HEAR**
I was cleaning out my voicemails when I stumbled on one from her, dated two weeks ago. Her voice was shaky, like she’d been crying. “I need to tell you something about Jake,” she said. My stomach dropped. Jake, my boyfriend of three years, had been acting distant lately, but I chalked it up to work stress. I played the message again, my hands trembling. “He’s been lying to you. About everything.”
I called her immediately, my heart pounding. She picked up on the first ring. “I didn’t want to tell you like this,” she said, her voice breaking. “But he’s been seeing someone else. For months.” I felt like the room was spinning. “Who?” I managed to ask. There was a long pause. “Me,” she whispered.
I hung up and stared at my phone, my mind racing. The walls felt like they were closing in. I grabbed my keys and drove to Jake’s apartment, my hands gripping the wheel so tight they hurt. When I got there, I saw her car parked outside.
Then the door opened, and they both stepped out, laughing.
*Full story continued in the comments…*I slammed on the brakes, the screech echoing in the sudden silence. They froze, their laughter dying on their lips. Jake’s face went white. My best friend, Sarah, looked down at her feet, her cheeks flushed.
I got out of the car, every step a thunderclap in the tense air. “Is this a joke?” I demanded, my voice cracking.
Jake opened his mouth to speak, but Sarah cut him off. “It’s true,” she said, her voice barely audible. “I’m so, so sorry.”
The world seemed to shrink. Betrayal, a hot, bitter wave, washed over me. Not just from Jake, but from Sarah, the person I’d trusted with everything. The thought of their laughter, their intimacy, sent a fresh stab of pain.
Jake finally found his voice. “Look, I can explain…”
“Explain what?” I spat, the words laced with venom. “How you both lied to me? How you destroyed everything?”
He flinched. “It just… happened,” he mumbled, avoiding my gaze.
Sarah stepped forward, putting a hand on my arm. I flinched away as if burned. “I know I messed up,” she pleaded. “I never meant for this to happen. We were going to tell you, but we were scared.”
Scared? Of what? The devastation they were causing? The years of friendship and love they were shattering? I wanted to scream, to rage, to break something.
Instead, I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain as calm as possible. “Get out,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. I looked at Jake. “Both of you. Get out of my life.”
They both looked stunned. Jake reached out to me, but I recoiled.
“I need some time,” I said, already turning back to my car.
The next few weeks were a blur of heartbreak and emptiness. I blocked their numbers, deleted their pictures, and avoided anywhere I thought I might see them. I leaned on my family and new friends, slowly piecing myself back together. It was a painful process.
One evening, a package arrived on my doorstep. It was from Sarah. Inside, was a letter and a small, antique music box, the kind we had always admired.
The letter began with another apology, a heartfelt recounting of her remorse. She explained that she and Jake were no longer together. She ended the letter by asking for forgiveness. The words, though painful, were honest.
I didn’t know what to do. For weeks I kept it in a drawer, unable to face it. Finally, I opened the music box and let it play. A simple melody, a song that reminded me of happier times.
The days later, I reached out to Sarah. It wasn’t easy. But time heals.
We were not back to what we were before, but we are trying.
I decided to forgive.
In the end, the betrayal had torn my world apart, but it also forced me to examine the life I was living and the people I allowed in it. It was not a happy ending, but it was the start of a new chapter. I chose to find strength, and to trust again, as the music box played.