Part 3The Empty House: My Boyfriend and Best Friend Sold My Life to Fund Their Vacation

Carter and Mia flew back on the third day.

The moment they landed, they didn't go to their own places—they came straight to mine.

They didn't know I had already changed the locks.

Carter jiggled his old key in the lock a few times, but the door wouldn't budge.

He started banging on the door.

"Serena, open up."

Mia stood behind him, her voice trembling.

"Serena, can we please just talk? Don't blow this out of proportion."

I opened the door, but left the heavy security chain engaged.

Seeing me standing there, Carter’s face immediately darkened.

"What is this? Are you treating us like thieves?"

I stared at him. "Who else would I be treating like a thief?"

Mia’s eyes welled up with red.

"Serena, I know you're mad. But you weren't even using that stuff, and we just desperately needed the money."

"Desperately needed money, so you stole mine?"

Carter frowned impatiently.

"I am your boyfriend. I’ve used every single piece of furniture in this house. I've been driving that car for years. Can't I claim half of it is mine?"

"Is your name on the title?"

"Stop being so cold and calculating."

He took a step forward, trying to push the door open.

The metal chain strained and rattled.

I raised my phone, pointing the camera right at his face.

"Touch that door again, and I’m calling the cops to report a home invasion."

Carter’s hand froze.

Mia started crying harder.

"How did you turn into someone like this? Didn't you use to care about me more than anyone?"

I looked at her.

"So caring about you means letting you take my diamond necklace to the Maldives for a photoshoot?"

She instinctively touched her neck.

The necklace was gone.

Carter stepped in front of her to shield her.

"You lent it to her. What's the big deal if she wears it?"

"Wore it all the way to a luxury consignment shop?"

Carter's eyes shifted nervously.

Mia immediately shrieked, "Serena, stop making up vicious lies!"

I didn't say a word.

Carter sneered.

"You just can't handle the fact that I fell in love with Mia. The stuff is just an excuse. If you want revenge, come at me. Don't bully her."

Mia kept her head down, whispering, "I always said she was a massive control freak. I knew she'd snap eventually."

Hearing that, the last trace of warmth in my heart evaporated completely.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

They had anticipated exactly how I would react and planned their narrative in advance.

Carter pulled out his phone.

"I already talked to our mutual friends. Serena, if you have any dignity left, stop causing a scene. Everyone knows how possessive you are. You're just refusing to let me go because we broke up."

Mia also opened Instagram on her phone.

She had just posted a new status.

[Twenty years of friendship, completely destroyed over a few pieces of jewelry. Being suffocated by the person closest to you makes you realize that escaping was the only right choice.]

Comments were already rolling in.

"Sending hugs."

"Stay away from toxic control freaks."

"Some people have money but zero class."

I finished reading it and looked up at her. "Are you sure you want to leave that post up?"

Mia bit her lip.

"I'm just protecting myself."

Carter glared at me.

"Call off the cops, and we drop this right now. Otherwise, nobody walks away from this looking good."

Just as I was about to close the door, my phone buzzed.

In our mutual friends' group chat, someone had forwarded a screenshot.

It was a message from Carter:

[Serena's mental health has always been unstable. She explicitly told us to get rid of the stuff in her house, and now she's changing her mind and acting crazy.]