Who knew, what Sofia thought was going to be a new and magnificent beginning actually was going to be quite a doom. A doom was prepared specifically for her. 

Who knew? 

Sofia watched Max and on his arm his date for the night, donning the same dress as hers. The exact replica of the blue dress he'd sent to her and requested that she wore for this reunion party.

Had he given that woman, his date, the dress because he wanted to prove how easily replaceable she was? 

Because it seemed like it.

Her mind took her back to ten years ago when they were best of friends before things went downhill. Max used to say then, "you are the most special, Sof. You're not like any other girl."

His genuine, innocent voice of the past was now a contradiction to his purposeful present.

Her heart twisted in her chest.

Since the moment she had walked into the party, the royal cold shoulder Max had been giving her had worked as a slow poison. As she chased him across the entire hall, trying to talk to him... her confidence, her excitement, and then all the hope dissipated into fear and humiliation. He was not even sparing her a glance, always scurrying off with his voluptuous woman on his arm, as if Sofia meant contamination that he needed to avoid at any cost.

Giving her pitiful looks every once in a while, Neil tried to keep her busy with some other old friends they located. But the wire of affinity that used to be with the said friends here seemed to be disintegrated over the course of time and distance. The rhythm had tumbled out of tune. Introductions sounded too proper, jokes had a lot of effort behind them, words were cautious and eyes subconsciously drifted off to other places giving the impression of disinterest deep down. 

Sighing Sofia decided to concentrate on Neil's funny blabbering instead. But then Neil too had to go outside the hall to get an important phone call from a client.

It was then it began when things took a turn for the worst.

Apparently, Max's date had brought her entire gang of bimbos to the party as well, no matter that none of them were from their high school. On her way to the washroom, Sofia walked past a pair from the girl gang aka the giggle horde--a skinny blonde and another long-legged brunette. Coincidentally while sliding past the door frame she got a lump of some kind of gum stuck in the laces of her dress that swirled about her legs. There was a round of giggles from the departing pair of blonde and brunette that made Sofia halt and spin around to stare at them for a second. She had the urge to confront them but it was also a given that they would surely deny or begin something worse even, and causing a scene was something Sofia wasn't interested in at that moment. 

She felt already too down from a certain someone's incessant dismissal.

It took her a while in the washroom to wash off the sticky gum from her dress with the help of the available liquid soap. In the process, the back of her fingers on both hands got some bleeding scratches from her own nails. Although it was nothing that pressing a hand towel couldn't solve. 

Into the trash, she threw the white towel that was now covered with tiny blotches of red. And then she took in a long breath imagining it was the strength she inhaled. Sure most of the lower part of her dress was wet now and so felt heavy around her legs, making the task of walking toilsome, but she knew she couldn't give the impression that she was suffering in any way. She had a suspicion that her self-pronounced enemies were not done yet.

And her suspicion was soon proved true.

Sofia was stalking over to the buffet, deciding that it would be better to eat something instead of standing in a corner with a hard but forlorn face. Max's date's bimbo-gang took it as the perfect opportunity to spill some red wine on her pretending a stumble on their heels. As though all of them stumbling simultaneously wasn't obvious enough.

"What the...," As Sofia tried to step away, someone pushed her from behind. Inevitably she found herself falling on her knees, the slippery wine surrounding her.

Max's rude attitude was enough, what message he illustrated with the dress was enough... and now these stupid girls cackling around her just added to her anger and humiliation, so much, so that she felt scalding tears forming in her eyes.

Without any notice, Neil had disappeared from the party for some reason. And all the other so-called old friends just chose to look on with interest.

Sofia huffed.

This was not her—fallen on the floor, frustrated and on the brink of breaking down in tears from all the embarrassment, childish attacks, and brutal disregard throughout this heck of a party. 

"This is what you deserve for copying our Viv."

"What did you think, you will imitate her and will raise to her... to our status?"

"And will get a rich man. Ah, we've been watching how you're chasing Max. Don't you have any shame?"

"He's our Viv's now for f*ck's sake! Get that into your thick head..."

Sofia's face turned redder and redder as words kept getting hurled down on her from the circle of sophisticated and gorgeous vultures that surrounded her. Grabbing onto whatever grace was left of her, she stood up on her feet slowly.

She glanced around another time to see that everyone was now watching the scene unfold with stunned faces, all of them curious and whispering among themselves, excited to see if this would end up in a vicious catfight. Surely then, this was going to be quite the gossip around for days to come.

Max was with his so-called date at a distance, simply staring her way with a blank look.

Who is this? Sophia wondered.

This man could not be her Max.

He had become a vengeful beast, luring her into his den to break her from the inside.

But he did not know to what extent she was familiar with hurt. Surely she could gulp down any bitter poison he had to offer and still fight off the vultures surrounding her. And so, she raised her chin defiantly and hoped the slight tremble of it would not give her away.

"I suggest you stop behaving so immaturely. This is a high school reunion party, not the high school itself," she said firmly, staring daggers at each one of the five girls.

One of the girls sneered at that. "But you copied Viv's dress!"

"Well, the dress can go to hell for all I care," Sofia snapped.

The amused smile on Max's lips didn't go unnoticed by her.

The said Viv, Max's date, whose honor these pathetic girls were supposedly protecting, stepped up then. "Excuse me? You — whoever the hell you are, have no right to talk to my friends in this manner. Besides, they're right about everything they said. Everyone at this party has noticed how you've been bouncing after Max, that too, wearing the same dress he has given me as a gift. You're quite the stalker I must say for knowing which dress he has bought for me."

"You don't—" But Sofia couldn't continue as Max cut in. Finally speaking, but not to Sofia.

"Viv," he coaxed calmly, giving Sofia a smug side glance. "Leave it. Such kind of people is not worth our time and patience."

Such kind of people!

Viv might have still said a set of parting words and so had perhaps her girl gang from around, but Sofia heard none of it. For her senses were focused on this one man who had woven such a perfect trap for her. She now understood it all.

His enchanting cold eyes mocked hers. Sofia watched on as his eyes registered her pale gone face, on his lips a small smile of victory appeared.

It was then she really looked at Max, for the first time since he had returned, and she could finally see the extent to which he had changed. He was no more the sweet boy from school whose memories she had kept with her for so many years and cherished everything that was connected to him.

Her best friend Max existed no more.

But it was karma, after all, she had finally reaped what she had sowed.

It was her foolishness to think that Max would still listen to her side of the story, especially after everything that had been said and done in the past.

Their friendship was ruined beyond repair.

It didn't matter that he was unaware of some of the things.

A sigh of defeat came out of her mouth. She diverted her eyes from him at that absolute moment when she felt her heart breaking.

It hurt to look at him anymore.

It hurt to look at anyone anymore.

The stares she was getting from everyone, she did not wish to witness that any further. The humiliation and sadness, the betrayal and pain — it all settled profoundly on her shoulders, and they drooped. The tears gathering in her eyes were getting too heavy to hold back, and so, suddenly she whirled around, and she ran.

She was not going to humiliate herself further by crying in front of a party full of people, in front of him.

Always, running off and hiding was better for her than revealing her tears. If she was going to be a coward, she would rather be one in a lonely corner, hidden from prying eyes.

Sofia allowed herself to sob only when the cold air of the night outside slammed across her face.

With the knowledge of defeat, she left behind his feast of vengeance