Coco's pov
The morning came, painting with a beautiful warm light, the kind of light that makes everything look gentler than it really is. It kissed the scattered clothes on the chair, the mug on the bedside table, even the wilted flowers Asanda brought last week. I still lazily laid tangled in the sheets, my body heavy with the kind of calm that usually doesn't last.
My mind wouldn't stop reminiscing about yesterday, Kyle's arms around me, the warmth of his breath against my neck as he kissed me, the way the world had literally shrunk to just that moment between us. And then there was Kairo's smirk, that half-smile that said she knows. It all felt too surreal, like I'd borrowed happiness from a life that didn't belong to me. A stolen day. A dream I didn't want to wake from.
The buzz from my phone brought me back to reality. Asanda's name flashed across the screen, my person. The only one who could make the noise in my head settle. The only person I can truly be my true self with.
"Girl, spill," she said before I could even greet her, voice bright and impatient. "I heard something went down yesterday. Don't even try to play dumb with me."
I laughed, curling onto my side. "Who have you been talking to already my friend?"
"It doesn't matter," she fired back, like always. "All I know is people are buzzing, and you're ghosting my texts. So spill. What happened?"
I hesitated. The silence between us stretched. I wanted to hold onto yesterday, to keep it unspoiled by words and my anxiety but this was Asanda. She wasn't the type to let me suffer in silence.
"It's… complicated Sands," I admitted finally, tracing the seam of my pillowcase. "But for once, I feel like maybe things are shifting in my favour. Like I can breathe again, my friend."
There was a beat, then the most predictable sound in the world, Asanda's high-pitched squeal that made me wince and grin all at once.
"That's all I needed to hear. Finally, Co!" she said. "Okay, but listen, your birthday is coming up next week, and we're not skipping it again this year. Don't think I'm letting you hide under the blankets."
I groaned. "Sands, you know me. I'm not the cake-and-confetti type of girl. You and Baba knew that very well."
"Please," she scoffed. "You deserve a whole weekend of spoils. Spa day, dinner, maybe even a rooftop party. Something that screams: Coco is back and thriving."
I smiled despite myself. "You mean something that screams: Asanda wants an excuse to wear a new outfit."
"Guilty!" she said without shame. "But come on, babe. You've been through enough. We should celebrate you. A small dinner, maybe at that Italian place you love? Just close friends, no drama."
"That actually doesn't sound too bad," I admitted, surprised by how much the thought warmed me. "Low-key. Intimate. Safe."
"Orrrrr," she added with a dangerous little lilt, "we go bold. A day trip out of the city. Wine farm. You in a cute dress, sipping something fancy, forgetting about… everything else."
I sighed. "You and your escapism."
"It works," she teased.
Maybe it did. Asanda always needed movement, her parents [both civil engineers] were always gone, chasing projects across continents, and she hated being alone and stillness. She filled the silence with laughter and plans. Sometimes I envied that. I used to think I was just like her, bright, restless, untouchable, but somewhere along the way, life dimmed that part of me.
"You better think about it, babe," she said, voice softening. "Also… I need to tell you something."
My chest tightened at her tone. "What's wrong?"
"I saw some posts online this morning," she said carefully. "Rose and Mika, don't ask me how I know, but they're stirring things again, I know it's them. It looks like they're trying to sabotage you."
My body went cold. I reached for my phone with trembling hands, fingers swiping faster than I could breathe.
Twitter Thread Screenshot@TeaTingsZA: Yoh, heard @CocoJinx has been 'busy' lately. Midnight rendezvous? Someone should ask the Carlisle's if they know what their little project is up to.
IG Gossip Blog PostSpotted: Coco looking TOO cozy with "mystery" man last week. Sources say she's not as innocent as she seems. Is she playing the Carlisle boy?
Comments Section– She's definitely a clout chaser. Mark my words.– Rumours are, Its Rose & Mika who leaked the news.That stepmom and stepsister were right to warn them. Girl's bad news.– Not me thinking she was sweet.
Each word cut deeper than the last. It didn't even matter that half the comments came from anonymous accounts, the damage was the same. My throat tightened. "They're trying to destroy me…"
"Exactly," Asanda said. Her voice was sharp now, protective. "Rose and Mika are behind this. I just know it. But listen, don't let them win. You've come too far."
I stared at my reflection in the black screen of my phone. My chest rose and fell too fast. It was like watching someone else fall apart.
"Why do they hate me so much?" I whispered. "I've done everything to stay out of their way."
"Because you shine without trying," Asanda said simply. "And people like that can't stand it."
I wanted to believe her, but deep down, I knew jealousy wasn't the only issue. The Carlisle's house wasn't a home to me, it was a theatre. Every glance, every word, a performance, and I'd been cast as the outsider before I even unpacked my bags.
Yesterday had been the first time I noticed Kyle look at me like I belonged. Like I wasn't just the help, or the charity case he took in, but now… this.
I pressed my palms over my eyes. "I can't go through this again, Sands."
"Yes, you can," she said firmly. "Because you've survived worse. Remember that."
Her words steadied something volatile in me. The silence stretched between us again, not heavy, but comforting.
After the call, I lay there staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning. Outside, life carried on, cars passing, birds arguing in the trees, but my world had shifted again. The calm from earlier had vanished, replaced by a strange mix of fury and clarity.
I pulled the blanket closer, my thoughts wandering back to Kyle. The way he looked at me the day before, caring, almost scared to see me in distress, like he knew what he meant to me, Like he knew this was how it was supposed to happen.
I got up and walked to the mirror. The girl staring back looked nothing like the one they wrote about online. Her eyes were tired but honest, her mouth trembling between defiance and fear. She wasn't perfect, but she was real.
And maybe that's what they hated most, that no matter how much they tried to twist my story, I was still here. Still breathing. Still me.
I brushed my hair into a loose bun and reached for my notebook, the one Asanda had gifted me last year with "For when you need to remember who you are" written inside the cover. I flipped to a clean page and began to write:
"They can lie about me. They can mock me, but they can't take the truth of what happened between us, the way he looked at me, the way I felt alive for the first time in years. The thing that is growing big and strong between us, is the one thing they will never be able to take away."
Tears burned, but I let them fall. Each one felt like shedding a piece of the weight I'd been carrying, heavy and unwarranted.
When I finally looked up, the sunlight had shifted again, softer now, gentler. The world outside didn't care about hashtags or rumours. The world still moved. And maybe I could, too.
I whispered into the quiet like a mad person, half to myself, half to the ghosts of everyone who ever doubted and hated me for no reason:
"You will never be done with me."