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 furrowing. "Claire, why are you being so cold? We talked about this. This is the best outcome."

Anisa tightened her grip on Jonah's arm, then looked at me, her eyes full of feigned remorse.

"Claire, I'm so, so sorry. My family situation... it came up so suddenly. Jonah was so worried about me, he... he had to make a rushed decision. He didn't even get a chance to properly explain it to you."

"Suddenly?" I asked, my voice flat. "You mean, in the last hour before the deadline, Anisa? No one realizes they have a financial crisis at the last minute."

Anisa's gaze darted away, her cheeks flushing.

"No! It wasn't like that! Jonah and I... we'd been talking about it for a while. But I kept telling him to go, for you. I just... I couldn't take it anymore."

My mind replayed the past few weeks.

Jonah and I, pulling all-nighters, buried in essays, practicing interview questions.

He'd been there with me the whole time, planning our future together, all while secretly planning a截然 different one with Anisa.

The betrayal wasn't just his choice; it was the lie he'd woven into every moment we'd shared.

Anisa's soft sobs escalated into a full-blown, heart-wrenching wail.

"Claire!" Jonah's voice was filled with fury. "Shut up! Can't you see how upset she is?"

I avoided his angry gaze, a strange clarity washing over me.

"I'm just curious," I said softly, my voice barely a whisper, a stark contrast to his roar.

A deep calm settled over me.

It was over. The endless pain, the tangled emotions – they were all gone. Replaced by a void.

Jonah, still seething with anger, didn't even notice the change.

He was too busy comforting Anisa, too engrossed in the role he'd so readily accepted.

He was so sure I would follow him, so certain of my loyalty, that he never thought to ask what I wanted, what I truly desired.

He had never considered me at all.

"Come on, Anisa. Let's go. Some people just don't understand what real support means." He shot me one last look of disgust.