Too Late For His Regret

My childhood best friend and I made a pact: Stanford first, then the world.

But an hour before the deadline, he gave it all up for another girl.

He chose to stay at the local state university, for Anisa, a girl who seemed so helpless.

He arrogantly assumed I would give up my future to follow him.

He didn't know, in that moment, he was the one I was letting go.

I vanished from his world. He thought I was overreacting, that I'd come around in a few days.

But when I boarded that plane to California, I wasn't just leaving him behind. I was choosing myself, for the first time.

Chapter 1

My finger hovered over the "submit" button, trembling slightly. Not from fear of the future, but from the sting of betrayal, a wound barely an hour old.

"He backed out, didn't he?" Lily's voice on the phone held a weary understanding. She knew us too well.

I didn't need to answer.

"He just told you, just like that? No discussion?" Anger started to creep into her tone.

I closed my eyes.

Jonah's confident smile flashed in my mind. The smile he'd used to deliver the news, as if he were doing us both a favor.

"He said Anisa needs him."

"Of course, she does." Lily sighed. "So, what about you? You gonna follow him to State? Give up Stanford for..." She trailed off, unable to articulate the feeling of downgrade.

My thumb, driven by a morbid curiosity, scrolled mindlessly through social media.

And there it was.

Anisa, face shyly tucked behind Jonah's shoulder. The caption read, "Found strength when I least expected it."

My chest tightened, like a cold steel band squeezing the air out of my lungs.

"No," I said. "I'm not following him anywhere."

My gaze fixed on the cursor blinking next to the "submit" button.

"I'm only responsible for my own life, Lily," I said.

The clock in the corner of my screen ticked down, merciless. The final deadline for Stanford's application was now.

"Good," Lily said, a note of fierce resolve in her voice. "Because I'm already planning our trip to California. Claire, you're going to love it there."

A knock at the door startled me.

I looked up. It was him. Jonah, one arm casually draped over Anisa's shoulder.

They walked in, their every move radiating intimacy.

"Claire, still working on your application?" Jonah asked, a condescending smile on his face.

"I thought you'd be ready to join me at State. Anisa was just telling me about a great program they have there, and it's affordable for her, too."

Anisa looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, her slight figure clinging to his side.

"Stanford's tuition is so expensive, I could never afford it," Anisa murmured. "Jonah is literally my savior. I don't know what I'd do without him."

A chill washed over me, numbing the pain.

I nodded toward my laptop, my face expressionless. "Submitted."

Jonah's smile froze, his brow