One: beginning

"The ending was so beautiful," Nina whispered, her voice hushed with reverence as she clutched the book to her chest like a child holding a beloved toy. She lay on her back, eyes glossy with lingering wonder, as though the last page had unlocked some hidden piece of her soul. Her tone had that soft, dreamy quality, the kind you only heard from people who still believed in magic or in love that could conquer all.

Beside her, Lana lay flat on her back, arms folded behind her head, eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling above. The lazy whirl of the ceiling fan creaked with each slow revolution, stirring the muggy air in the room but doing little to relieve the heavy tension between them. She sighed, already knowing what was coming.

"Love will always win," Nina breathed, her words melting into the silence like a final, sacred truth.

Lana groaned under her breath. "Girl, please."

Nina turned to her, lips parting in surprise, her eyes bright and unbothered, glittering with that stubborn belief she always carried. "What?"

"You have said that line every night this week," Lana replied, turning her head to meet Nina's gaze. "Hell, you said it every day since you picked up that book. You are obsessed."

Nina laughed softly, her voice light and musical, the kind of laugh that knew Lana was annoyed and didn't care. "You wouldn't say that if you just read this like I told you"

Lana rolled her eyes. "I don't need to read that. You practically live inside the damn audiobook now, you quote that in the cafeteria, on the bus, during dinner, I have basically heard every chapter and honestly? That kind of story is so cringe."

Nina blinked, stunned. "Cringe?!"

"Yeah like seriously cringe. A woman gets cheated on, abandoned and then forgives him because she still loves him" Lana's tone sharpened. "That is not romantic, Nina. That is a cautionary tale."

Nina's mouth dropped open, a hand flying to her chest like Lana had just insulted her entire bloodline. "Your so bitter, maybe get a boyfriend first so you will understand what love really feels like"

Lana stiffened, that just struck a nerve.

She pushed herself upright, eyes narrowing. "Excuse me? I don't need a guy to 'understand' love and if your idea of love includes betrayal and begging someone to come back, then I'm glad I have missed out."

Nina furrowed her brows as she sat up too. "You twisting it, It's not about begging, it's about forgiveness, healing and choosing love even when it's hard."

"No," Lana said, her voice lower now, steady and sharp. "It's about her losing herself and giving up her dignity so some man can have a redemption arc. Why is it that men can do anything and still be loved but women can do everything right and still be left?"

Nina let out a breath, not quite angry, just tired. "Lana, I know your parents messed you up," she said, voice edged with fatigue rather than frustration. "But not every guy is your father, you can't just keep seeing them all through that lens."

Lana flinched, barely but it was there. That slight tightening around her eyes, the way her mouth pressed into a thin, defensive line. It always happened when someone mentioned her father even if they didn't say his name.

"Why do you have to bring up my father?" Lana snapped, her voice sharp with emotion. Her hands curled into fists at her sides.

Nina's expression softened for a moment, she hadn't meant to cut that deep but still, she held her ground. "Because it's always there, Lana" she said, frustration creeping in. "Every time someone shows the slightest flaw, you act like love is poison, like every man is out to break you. Aren't you tired of hating it all?"

Lana raised an eyebrow and smiled, dry, unimpressed like she was trying not to laugh at how absurd it sounded. "Maybe I'm also like this because I watched you mistake pain for love." Her voice dropped low but it struck like a blade. "Every time they cheated, left, lied, you fucking took them back like it was something you should proud of, like being hurt made the love real. You keep calling it a 'flaw' but all it show is that you have forgotten to value your own worth"

Nina's expression changed, offended and a little wounded. She didn't like the way Lana looked at her, like she was naive, weak and she was someone to pity.

"Just because we see love differently," she said, her voice tight but steady, "doesn't mean I don't have self-respect."

"Oh, you have it?" Lana said, the words sliding out too fast, too bitter to pull back. Her lips curved, not in a smile but something colder, disappointment sharpened into sarcasm. "Could have fooled me. Maybe you should stop reading those kinds of stories."

"You keep disappearing into those books," Lana continued. "Stories where love is built on suffering. Where the girl breaks, forgives him, and calls it healing then you live it, over and over, with every guy who leaves you empty."

The conversation had shifted. It hadn't been about the book for a while now. Lana wasn't dissecting a plot, she was unraveling something inside herself, piece by piece. Her words weren't just opinions, they were wounds, dressed as arguments. Raw. Personal.

If anyone has walk in, they might have laughed, two women arguing over a romance novel like it was life or death. But if they will listen closely, they would have known: it wasn't about a story. It was about two people who loved differently. Maybe it was a mistake to put them in the same room. Nina wore her heart open, forgave even when she bled that triggered Lana, she couldn't look at that without remembering how love took everything from her.

"You always act like you are better than everyone," Nina snapped, the words like a dam finally breaking. "Always think you know more, feel deeper."

The air in the room shifted, thin and sharp like a blade. Lana's chest ached, she couldn't believe that is how Nina saw her.

"I'm just worried about you!" Lana snapped back, voice cracking.

"I'm not going to kill myself like your mother!" Nina shot back

A moment of silence wrapped the room like a noose before Nina cut through it again.

"You are not 'worried,'" Nina continued, her voice quieter, deadlier. "You are projecting your trauma onto me. You fucking need to heal, Lana."

Lana's lips parted, she looked like she wanted to argue back but no words came as Nina stepped off the bed and grabbed the book, held it up

"If this is what sets you off, fine! I won't read any more romance around a man-hater like you ever again!" She threw the book into the corner.

Lana wasn't even done processing Nina's earlier words, her mind was spinning, stuck in a loop of hurt and guilt

Maybe Nina is right... I am too much? she thought, her mind spiraled, so lost that she didn't notice Nina turning to the open door, Lana just watched her best friend walk toward it.

BAM!

The door slammed shut on its own before Nina could even reach it. Nina froze as Lana snapped out of her haze.

Nina turned back to Lana, eyes wide in fear. "What just happened?" she whispered.

Before Lana could answer, the book in the corner sprang open. A glow burst from its pages. Lana and Nina exchanged a look, half disbelief and fear.

"As long as he is happy..."

"I didn't know what was happening anymore..."

A voice, female, unfamiliar and definitely not either of theirs, echoed from the book.

Lana stepped off the bed immediately, grabbing Nina's hand.

"Why is your damn book doing that?!" she demanded.

"I don't know!" Nina whimpered, now hiding slightly behind Lana's back. The pages of the book began to tear themselves free, letters floating into the air, dancing in the light.

"What the fuck…" Lana muttered. She began backing away, pulling Nina toward the open window. There were stairs on the other side, thinking to escape but suddenly, a violent gust of wind slammed into them that Lana was ripped from Nina's grip.

"Lana!" Nina screamed as their hands slipped apart. Lana's face filled with terror as she was lifted into the air, the pages spinning around her like a storm, Nina tried to run to her but the wind held her back.

"Nina!" Lana cried out, fear rising in her chest. She tried to reach for her again but it was no use.

A flash of light.

Then silence.