Mabel stood in front of the full-length mirror, admiring her wedding gown.

The dress was perfect, just like she had always imagined it would be.

The gown was made of ivory silk, with a fitted bodice and a flowing skirt.

The neckline was off-the-shoulder, and delicate lace appliqués adorned the sleeves and bodice.

Mabel turned around to admire the back of the dress. It had a deep V-neckline and a long train that cascaded down the floor. 

She felt like a princess in the dress.

It was everything she had ever wanted, and more. She couldn't wait to show it to Joe. 

Mabel and Joe had been together for four years, and she was deeply in love with him.

They had met through a mutual friend, and they had hit it off immediately.

Joe was everything Mabel had ever wanted in a partner: he was kind, funny, intelligent, and handsome.

Joe had proposed to Mabel eight months ago, and she said yes without hesitation. She knew that he was the one for her.

Mabel smiled as she thought about how she had described her dream wedding to Joseph. 

They were lying side by side on the bed, their fingers intertwined.

She turned to him, her eyes filled with excitement. "Joe, you won't believe how beautiful it's going to be. I want this stunning, ivory lace dress, and the train will be so long that it'll take your breath away."

Joe chuckled, his affectionate gaze fixed on her. "I can already picture you in that dress, Mabel. It sounds perfect."

She giggled, not minding his teasing. "And for the flowers, no roses for me. They're so overdone and cliche. I want peonies and tulips, a soft blend of pastel colors."

Joseph laughed "You're so dramatic, Mabel," he said with a playful tone, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face.

She playfully nudged him, "Hey, a girl's got to know what she wants! 

Joseph raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Peonies and tulips it is then. Anything else?"

Mabel nodded like a little girl. "I want an intimate atmosphere, with fairy lights and soft music. I want our guests to feel like they're in a magical garden, surrounded by love and enchantment."

Joe chuckled. "You're such a romantic, Mabel, always so dramatic in the best way."

Mabel let out a giggle, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on the bed sheet. "I can't help it; it's just how I've always envisioned it."

Joseph's gaze softened as he reached out to hold her chin in his hand. "Well, I promise you, my love, we'll have the wedding of your dreams. I can't wait to see your vision come to life."

Mabel turned to look at herself in the mirror again. 

She was stunned by how beautiful she looked. The dress fit her perfectly, and it made her feel like a million bucks. She couldn't wait to see Joe's face when he saw her in it.

Everything was perfect except for one thing. One little pebble in the otherwise perfect mosaic.

—It wasn't her wedding day.

She had broken up with Joe two months ago because she caught him in bed with Liz. 

Liz was the same woman who introduced Joe to Mabel, she was their mutual friend and they had all been close friends for years.

Mabel had noticed how close Liz and Joe were but they had both assured her that nothing was going on.

Until one day she caught them in bed, and she felt like her world had shattered.

Mabel had cried for weeks. She couldn't go to work or the gym. She didn't pick up Joe or Liz's calls. She was devastated.

She didn't understand why Joe had done this to her. He knew how much she loved him . He knew how much she had sacrificed for him.

And Liz, Liz was supposed to be her friend. She was the one who had talked her into dating Joe in the first place, and she had always been there to help them settle their differences.

She felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. She couldn't believe that the two people she had trusted the most had betrayed her in such a way.

And now, here she was, clutching the wedding invitation to Joseph and Elizabeth's wedding tightly in her hand.

The world seemed to blur as she held the wedding invitation in her hands. Her heart pounded in her chest as she read the names: Elizabeth weds Joseph.

How could this be happening? 

Joe was supposed to be the man she married, the man she spent the rest of her life with. Mabel felt like a fool. 

How could I have been so blind? How could I have trusted a man so much?

Mabel dropped the wedding invitation to the floor and sank to her knees. She sobbed uncontrollably, her body shaking with grief. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. She felt so betrayed, so heartbroken.

She sat on the floor and cried until she had no tears left. Then she picked herself up and wiped her face, took off her wedding gown, and folded it neatly. She placed it in a box and kept it on the bed.

Her phone startled her with its sudden ringtone. She recognized the caller—it was the girl she had discreetly hired to confirm the identities of the couple at the wedding venue, Elizabeth and Joe.

She swiftly answered the call, her voice laced with anticipation. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mabel," the girl replied. 

"It's me. I'm at the wedding venue. It's definitely Elizabeth and Joe."

Doubt lingered in Mabel's mind as she pressed further. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"Positive," the girl affirmed. 

Mabel's stomach churned with a mix of emotions, unable to fully grasp that Liz and Joe were indeed tying the knot. 

"Could you send me a video, just to be sure?" Mabel requested.

"Of course," the girl responded. "I'll send it to you right away."

“Thank you," Mabel replied

Mabel hung up the phone and waited for the video to come through. A few seconds later, she received a notification.

She opened the video and watched it. It was Elizabeth and Joe, kissing and dancing at their wedding reception.

Mabel's blood boiled. She felt like she was going to explode.

She screamed and scratched the wall. Her fingers started to bleed.

She didn't care. She was too angry to feel pain.

Mabel walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. She didn't recognize the person she saw staring back at her.

Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her hair was a mess, and her face was contorted with rage.

She raised her fist and punched the mirror. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

She screamed again. She screamed until her voice was gone.

She fell to the floor and cried. She cried for everything she had lost.

She cried for the love she had thought she had found.

She cried for the friend she had thought she had.

After a while, Mabel stood up and wiped her face.

She was done crying. She was done feeling sorry for herself.

Mabel swiftly retrieved her phone and dialed back.

"Hello?" she responded.

"It's Mabel. Follow them to their destination for the night and keep me informed," she instructed firmly.

"Understood," came the concise reply.

Mabel sat on the couch and waited for the girl to call her back. She was fuming with anger. She couldn't believe that Elizabeth and Joe had betrayed her in such a way.

She wanted to confront them, but she knew that she couldn't do it now. She needed to wait until she had calmed down and had a plan.

She looked at her bleeding hand and sighed. She needed to clean it up, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was too angry.

Finally, her phone rang. "Mabel," the girl whispered, "I've followed them to a hotel. It's the Grandview Hotel on 5th Avenue. They went inside and checked into room 214.”

Mabel's anger intensified, but she asked, "What else did you find out?"

"I overheard them talking about flight tickets," the girl revealed. "It sounds like they're planning to leave the country. They mentioned a flight to Paris tomorrow morning."

Mabel clenched her fist, her injured hand throbbing. "Thanks.” 

As the call ended, Mabel's mind raced. Her betrayal ran deep, and the thought of Elizabeth and Joe planning to leave the country without a word cut like a knife.

She knew she had to stay composed and devise a plan to confront them. 

She picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"I need your help," she said.

Mabel waited and waited. The minutes dragged on like hours, each one filled with anticipation and anxiety. Mabel sat in her car, parked a few blocks away from the hotel, her heart pounding in her chest.

 The rain had started to drizzle, adding to the gloom of the night. 

Finally, she saw the guy she had called earlier, a shadowy figure emerging from the darkness.

He was carrying a cross bag that seemed to bulge with a heavy load, and he wore a hood over his head, concealing most of his features. 

Mabel's nerves were on edge as he approached her car. She rolled down the window just enough for their voices to carry through.

He leaned in, his eyes hidden in the shadow of the hood, and handed her a gun. The cold metal of the weapon sent a shiver down her spine. It was a stark reminder of the dangerous path she had chosen to tread.

“What do you want it for?" he asked in a hushed tone, his voice laced with curiosity and caution.

Mabel hesitated for a moment, her fingers trembling as they gripped the weapon.

"Just show me how it's done," she finally replied, her voice equally low.

He shrugged, recognizing that he was in no position to argue.

With a sigh, he proceeded to explain the basics of handling the weapon. 

His instructions were clear and concise, as though he had done this before.

"Just be careful, okay? And if you get caught, don't involve me. I don't want the police on my doorstep."

Mabel hissed under her breath, her frustration evident. She knew the risks, and his reminder only added to her anxiety.

She reached into her bag, extracted a small envelope filled with cash, and handed it to him without a word.

"You can go now," she said, her tone dismissive. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

He nodded and retreated into the darkness, disappearing as swiftly as he had arrived. Mabel watched him go, a sense of unease settling in the pit of her stomach.

This was a path she had chosen, and she knew there was no turning back.

Mabel took a moment to compose herself. Her decision weighed heavily on her conscience, but there was no turning back now. She put on a coat to conceal the gun and with determined steps, she made her way into the hotel, a pit of anxiety gnawing at her stomach. 

The room she had booked was strategically chosen, directly opposite the one occupied by Liz and Joe

As she settled into her room, her thoughts raced, and her heart pounded. The night had only just begun. 

Mabel's heart raced as she stood outside the room where Liz and Joe were staying. She had to be quick and convincing. She knocked softly. 

Joe's voice came from the bathroom asking who it was. Liz chimed in, teasing Joe about expecting someone. His response was filled with laughter, assuring Liz that it was their honeymoon, and he wouldn't want any disturbances. 

Mabel knocked again, her anxiety growing by the second.

Liz, puzzled, asked, "Who is it?"

Mabel concocted a lie quickly. "Room service," she replied, attempting to sound as professional as possible.

Liz frowned. "Room service? At this hour? Did something go wrong with the cleaning?"

Mabel continued the charade. "No ma'am, I just need to fix something in the room,"

she said, desperately trying to maintain her composure.

Liz, curious and perhaps a bit irritated, walked to the door and opened it, thinking it might be a minor issue.

As the door swung open, Mabel's hand, holding the gun, moved with lightning speed, pointing it directly at Liz. 

Her voice was a chilling whisper, and she warned, "Shhhhh. Do not make a sound” 

Liz's eyes widened in terror, and she whimpered, her voice shaky. "What are you doing with a gun, Mabel? Please, don't kill me."

"Shut the fuck up!" Mabel snapped, her nerves fraying. 

She stuffed a napkin into Liz's mouth, muffled her cries, and swiftly tied her hands behind her back.

Meanwhile, Joe had heard the commotion from the bathroom. He emerged quietly, his eyes widening as he saw the perilous situation. 

Without hesitation, he grabbed a nearby bottle of wine and swung it forcefully at Mabel. The glass shattered on impact, and the gun slipped from her grip as she fell to the floor, stunned.

Joe wasted no time. He grabbed Mabel by her hair, his adrenaline surging, and swung her across the room. 

Mabel's world spun as pain radiated from the spot where Joe had struck her. Her vision blurred, and a throbbing ache pulsed through her head. She struggled to regain her bearings as Joe's strong grip on her hair kept her firmly in check.

Dazed and disoriented, Mabel found herself sprawled on the floor, the gun just out of reach. Panic surged within her as she realized her audacious plan had spectacularly backfired.

She had underestimated Joe's strength and resolve.

Liz, though still bound and gagged, watched the unfolding chaos with a mixture of terror and relief in her eyes.

Joe's voice quivered with a mix of anger and fear. "What the hell were you thinking Mabel?" he demanded, his knuckles white from the tension coursing through his body. 

Mabel, her senses returning slowly, realized that her audacious gambit had brought her to the brink of disaster. Her plan to confront Liz and Joe had gone horribly wrong, and now she was at their mercy. She had a desperate choice to make – to surrender and face the consequences or to fight her way out of this predicament. 

In that tense moment of desperation and fear, as Joe drew closer, Mabel's survival instincts kicked in. She didn't hesitate.

With a swift, brutal motion, she seized a shard of the broken wine bottle from the floor and thrust it into Joe's thigh.

A guttural cry of pain escaped Joe's lips as he stumbled back, clutching his wounded leg.

Blood oozed from the fresh wound, adding to the already chaotic scene. The room was filled with anguish, anger, and the metallic scent of blood.

Liz, her face aghast with shock, watched as the situation escalated beyond anyone's control.

As Mabel staggered to her feet, her head throbbing from the earlier blow, the room was filled with a palpable tension.

Her grip on the shard of glass loosened as she looked at Joe with a mixture of anger and heartbreak.

Joe lay on the floor, his face contorted with pain and disbelief as he watched his own blood flow from the wounds inflicted by Mabel's actions. 

He pleaded, his voice fraught with desperation, "Mabel, please don't do this. I'll give you anything you want."

Mabel's laughter was cold and hollow as she retorted, "Anything I want? Yeah, I'll tell you what I want, Joseph. I want the truth. I want to know why you betrayed me. Four years, Joe. Four years of my life I gave to you, and look where it got me.”

Joe's face contorted with guilt and regret as he struggled to respond. "I tried, Mabel. I'm sorry," he stammered, his voice filled with remorse.

Mabel's eyes, however, glinted with a mix of pain and anger as she faced the man she once trusted. "Yeah, you tried, Joseph," she retorted. "You tried to ruin my life, and guess what?” Her finger tightened around the gun she held, her gaze unwaveringly fixed on Liz, who sat on the floor trembling in the room.

"You did," Mabel declared, her voice firm and unforgiving. "Both of you."

Mabel, don't do this," Joe pleaded, desperation in his voice as he frantically searched for a way to defuse the situation.

Liz, her life hanging in the balance, shook her head vigorously. With tears streaming down her face, she begged, “Please, Mabel ." The gag fell off her mouth.

Mabel's face contorted with anger, and she approached Liz, delivering a swift, brutal smack with the back of the gun. “How long have you been sleeping with him?" she seethed.

Tears streamed down Liz's face as she continued to shake her head, her voice trembling with sobs, and she pleaded, "I'm so sorry, I don't want to die."

With trembling hands, Mabel pointed the gun perilously close to Liz's head. "You were dead to me the day I saw you in bed with him. Go to hell where you belong."

Desperation filled her as she called out, "Joe, please, do something. Joe! Joe!"

But there was no response from Joe, the silence in the room only amplifying her anguish.

Liz's words pierced the tense air like a dagger. "I'm pregnant!" she shouted, her voice desperate, her eyes squeezed shut in fear. "I'm pregnant with Joe's baby. Please!"

Mabel was frozen, her eyes wide with shock as she looked at Joe, the weight of Liz's revelation sinking in.

Joe nodded, his eyes locked onto Mabel's, confirming the truth of Liz's words. "It happened just once," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret. "She refused to get rid of it. I had no choice but to marry her. I tried to explain, Mabel, I did. I love you more than anything in the world."

Liz, her confusion and hurt evident, responded with a mixture of anger and betrayal. "What? You said you wanted this baby, Joe," she accused him. "You said you loved me.”

Mabel's voice boomed, cutting through the turmoil. "Shut up, both of you! Shut up!" she shouted, holding her head as if trying to contain the storm of emotions that threatened to engulf her. 

Ignoring Liz's presence, Joe turned his attention solely to Mabel, his voice trembling as he pleaded, "Sweetheart, remember everything we shared. I only did this for the baby. You're my one true bride, always and forever. Please, Mabel."

Mabel, tears streaming down her face, finally turned to Joe, her anger melting into heartache. "She's carrying your child, Joseph," she sobbed, a mix of emotions raging within her. 

“I’m sorry Mabel,” Joe continued. 

Mabel took a deep breath, struggling to contain her emotions. "Is that all you have to say, Joe?" Her voice trembled, torn between anger and heartbreak. "I loved you, and you destroyed everything. We were planning a life together, and you threw it all away."

Joe, struggling to sit up despite his injuries, reached out to her, his voice pleading. "Mabel, please, let's find a way to fix this. I'll do whatever it takes to make it right. I made a terrible mistake, but I love you."

As Mabel's attention was locked on Joe, Liz seized a chance to escape. Her anger fueled her determination, and she noticed a shard of the wine bottle on the floor.

Swiftly, and unnoticed, she used it to cut through the rope binding her hands, freeing herself from her captive state.

Joe's voice trembled with love and regret as he continued to talk to Mabel. "I love you so much, Mabel."

Overwhelmed by her torrent of emotions, Mabel walked into Joe's open arms, breaking down as she held him tightly. "Look what you made me do, Joe."

Joe held her close, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, sweetheart. Come here. I love you, and we will get through this together."

Mabel nodded through her tears, whispering, "I love—" but her declaration was abruptly cut short.

Liz took the shard of the wine bottle in her hand and, with a shocking act of violence, stabbed Mabel in the neck, plunging the room into a horrifying moment of blood-curdling terror.

Liz, horrified by her own actions, hurled the wine bottle aside and let out an uncontrollable scream that echoed through the room.

In a frantic attempt to contain the situation, Joe pushed Mabel away from him as she fell to the floor, blood gushing from her neck. 

His focus shifted to Liz, and he rushed to cover her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her cries. "You'll draw attention" he hissed. "Stop shouting."

Liz, overwhelmed by the gravity of her actions, attempted to shout again, her voice trembling, "I killed her!"

Joe maintained his grip on her mouth and responded with a calm, calculated tone, "You did it for us, for our child."

Tears welled up in Liz's eyes as she began to hyperventilate. "I'm going to jail," she cried. "Oh, I'm going to jail. I killed somebody."

Joe, determined to reassure her, said, "Nobody's going to jail, not if they don't find a body."

Liz, panicked and confused, asked, "What? What are we going to do now?"

Joe's mind raced as he quickly devised a plan. "Quick, help me wrap the body. We're going to take it out and burn it. No evidence, no crime, no culprit."

Liz hesitated, aghast. "But what about the blood?"

“Bleach," Joe replied. "You're going to clean it with bleach while I get rid of her."

Liz shook her head in disbelief, her voice quivering, "No, no, no. This is wrong. This is wrong." 

Joe responded sharply, "Well, do you want to go to jail?"

Liz persisted, "We…. We could tell the police it was self-defense. We could get a lawyer."

Joe's anger flared, and he cut her off sharply, "No! Okay, Liz, no! This is all your fault. I had it under control."

Tears welled up in Liz's eyes as she argued, "But she wanted to kill me, Joe. Think about our baby."

Joe hissed and snapped, "Look, let's do this my way, and I can get the hell out of the country for good."

Joe, his shirt tied around his thigh, winced from the pain and exhaustion. He realized the gravity of the situation. "Yes, it's wrong, but I'm not going down for this," he declared, struggling to stay on his feet. "Everything is wrong. This was all a mistake."

Liz, her voice quivering, asked a burning question, "Did you mean it? Everything you said to her? That you married me because of this baby?" 

Joe, growing impatient, rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this, Elizabeth. Are we doing this or not? I'm done with all this."

Liz persisted, demanding an answer. "Answer me!"

Joe, frustrated, reached for his phone, and began limping toward the door.

Fueled by fear and desperation, Liz picked up the gun and screamed at Joe, "Answer me!"

Joe halted in his tracks, realizing the danger he was in. 

He held his hands up in a calming gesture. 

"Whoa, whoa, babe. Easy now. Put the gun down."

Liz, her fingers trembling, repeated her question, her voice filled with anguish, "Am I a mistake?"

Joe started approaching Liz slowly, and cautiously, replied, "Of course not. You're not a mistake. We loved each other even before Mabel came into the picture. It has always been the two of us. I said what I said to save us. That woman was crazy."

Liz, still holding the gun, tearfully whispered, "That woman was my best friend."

Joe, feeling the tension in the room, pleaded, "Just put the gun down. We can talk about this."

Liz stands there, her grip on the gun trembling, tears streaming down her face. Joe's shirt is still wrapped around his thigh to stem the bleeding, and the room is a chaotic mix of bloodstains, broken glass, and a dead body. 

Joe's reassurance that Liz isn't a mistake offers a glimmer of hope, but it's clear that trust has been shattered.

Suddenly, there was a loud, persistent knock on the door. Both Liz and Joe froze in fear, their hearts racing.

"Is everything okay in there? I heard some shouting."

Liz, panicked and still holding the gun, whispered to Joe, "What do we do?"

The knocking continued, growing more insistent. "I'm calling the police if you don't answer!"

"Help! Help me! She's trying to kill me!" Joe screamed, his voice filled with terror. 

Liz, shocked and bewildered by Joe's sudden accusation, stammered, "What? No, I would never—"

But before she could finish her sentence, Joe screamed again, escalating the act. "Help! She's crazy!" His cries were filled with fear.

Liz's emotions overcame her, and in a fit of rage and panic, she shot the gun at Joe.

The room filled with the sound of gunshots as she fired twice. 

Joe fell to the ground, blood seeping from the gunshot wounds. He struggled to breathe, his face contorted with pain and shock.

Liz's heart ached as she watched Joe's life slip away, his once-vibrant brown eyes dimming with each passing moment. Her gaze remained fixed on him, her world coming to a standstill in the face of this tragedy.

The room seemed to close in around Liz, and her world came to a standstill. This was real for her, a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. 

All she had ever known was her love for Joe, a love that had been hidden in the depths of her heart for far too long. She had kept her feelings secret, concealed by the fear that he might not feel the same way about her. Liz couldn't bear the thought of their friendship, their connection, falling apart if her confession were to be met with rejection.

She thought about the night that had changed everything. Their moment of intimacy had brought them closer, but it had also led to an unexpected consequence - her pregnancy. 

She had been so afraid to tell Joe, fearing it would drive a wedge between them, but when she finally did, he had surprised her with his unwavering commitment.

Joe had held her close, his eyes filled with determination as he whispered, "Liz, I love you. We'll get through this together. I promise to take care of you and our baby."

She fell on her knees and held Joe's fading hand, the words of their wedding vows from just this morning echoed in her mind. "Till death do us part," they had pledged, not knowing how quickly that part of the vow would come true.

Liz thought of her baby, a fragile life growing within her. She couldn't bear the thought of bringing an innocent child into this web of tragedy. She felt like a monster, trapped in a nightmare of her own making.

Her gaze drifted over to Mabel's lifeless body. "I'm sorry, May," she whispered, tears falling freely from her eyes. Regret weighed heavily on her soul.

Amidst her grief, a loud, authoritative knock echoed through the room. The police had arrived. Their stern demand pierced through her devastation, "Open the door, or we will break it down."

Liz, lost in her own madness, barely registered their presence. Her whole world had crumbled, and she couldn't find the strength to respond. 

As the police officers began to forcefully break down the door, Liz stood up, her movements mechanical and devoid of emotion. 

She took one last look at his lifeless body and then closed her eyes. He was the love of her life. She took a deep breath and slowly put the gun to her head. She was ready to join him in the afterlife. She was ready to be reunited with her soulmate. 

Her body dropped to the ground as she pulled the trigger. 

~ Luna