Copyright © ClaraRodrick (Lara Ruze) ™ 2017, 2018-

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 that 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 in 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 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, you 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 kinds of people are not worth our time and patience."

Such kinds 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. Because 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 in 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 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.

Since forever, running off and hiding was better to her than revealing her tears. If she were 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.

~ Past separated them, now pain will bring them together.~

A teenage Sophia, experiencing her falling apart family, isolated herself slowly from everything that she held dear-especially from her best friend Max who had just realized his love for her. It delivered Max the kind of grief that changed him radically.

Misleading people and misunderstanding changed his love into hatred.

Max left with a broken heart and the ever-burning hunger to give her back the same kind of pain she'd inflicted upon him. And he succeeded, coming back ten years later.

Pity that he was still oblivious to many things. Silly that she still blamed herself.

Then fate in the form of an old cupid named Robert Wilder and a humongous debt intervened. And a marriage made in hell was got in the result.

~A journey of pain and revenge, hastily made wrong decisions and consequences will take them both somewhere-where they are meant to be.~

~This is their bitter-sweet tale of letting go; growing up and maybe along the way falling inevitably in love.~