Chapter 4The Art Of Breaking A Toxic Quartet

I put on a hurt expression, about to offer a pitiful explanation, when both Spencer and Kian’s voices rang out simultaneously.

“Sasha just had a cramp; it wasn’t intentional. Stella, stop talking about her like that.”

“Some body contact is normal when you’re teaching someone to swim, Stell. You and Jax were hugging the whole time, and Sasha didn’t say anything.”

The air around the group instantly fell silent.

Stella’s eyes went wide, hurt, and she started to tear up. “You guys are yelling at me—for her?”

Kian and Spencer, having spoken before thinking, looked stunned themselves. It was clear they hadn’t meant to defend me.

Seeing Stella cry, they were instantly filled with regret.

Kian quickly grabbed Stella’s hand, using it to hit his own face. “I’m sorry, Stella. I wasn’t yelling. You can hit me all you want to vent your anger.”

Spencer tenderly wiped the tears from her face. “Please don’t cry, Stella.”

Jax’s face was green with anger.

He couldn't help but say sourly, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think Sasha was your girlfriend. You’re reacting more than I am, and I’m her actual boyfriend.”

Spencer closed his mouth, looking guilty.

Kian raised his voice, defensive. “Girlfriend? Are you serious? I only want Stella. I don’t need any girlfriend!”

After another long session of cajoling, Stella finally managed a tearful smile.

Just as I thought she might settle down, she looked right at me.

Our eyes met, and my professional bitchy radar immediately started buzzing.

“Sasha, I really thought we could be friends. But I see you’re just like the others. The first thing you did when you joined the group was try to sow discord between the four of us.”

“But your methods are so much more effective. They’ve never been this mean to me for an outsider.” Stella’s tone was filled with genuine sadness.

“Why? We’re both girls. Why can’t we just get along? Why do you have to create girl-on-girl drama with me?”

As Stella spoke, I felt Spencer’s gaze on me instantly turn cold and distant.

Kian reverted to the open hostility he’d displayed when we first met.

Jax’s face hardened.

“Sasha, were you really doing this on purpose?”

Wow, I thought to myself. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Wasn't Stella the one who had been waging an endless emotional war?

No wonder this clique had such an infamous reputation.

Jax, Kian, and Spencer were all good-looking guys, yet girls steered clear of them.

Their ex-girlfriends must have suffered under Stella, the ever-present, faux-innocent, childhood friend.

Well, she’d met her match. Time for a lesson.

I blinked, letting the tears well up. “I’m sorry, Stella. I just let Kian and Spencer help me because Jax was so focused on teaching you. I was bored.”

“I thought we were already friends, and you considered me part of the group. I guess I was fooling myself.”

I lowered my head, my lip trembling as I bit it until it turned white. I managed to suppress my sobs as I looked at Jax. “Let’s break up.”

Jax’s eyes widened in shock. A flicker of annoyance mixed with something else crossed his face.

“If it was an accident, then it was an accident. It’s no big deal. Who said anything about breaking up?”

“Don’t overthink this. Stella is always telling us to find good girlfriends. She truly wants to be your friend.”

Kian and Spencer chimed in awkwardly. “Yeah, Stella was just venting. She loves hanging out with other girls.”

Stella was trapped. She could only force a smile.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, her expression innocent and sweet. “Sasha, what are you saying? I truly want to be your friend, that’s why I was so sad.”

“I’m relieved you weren’t intentionally trying to break us up.”

Jax frowned slightly, a hint of suspicion touching his face at the odd phrasing of Stella’s words.

But he quickly dismissed the feeling, reaching out to put his arm around my shoulder.

“Didn’t you want to learn to swim? I’ll teach you personally. Kian and Spencer can help Stella today.”

I stepped back, evading his embrace. My voice was choked with tears, but firm. “No. I want to break up with you.”

Jax was clearly bewildered.

“Why?”

Stella’s eyes darted around anxiously. “Sasha, you still care that I exist, don’t you?”

Her mournful gaze swept over the three men. “It’s always me who ruins your relationships. Jax, forget me. Go comfort your girlfriend.”

Seeing Stella so wounded, Jax finally erupted in anger.

“Sasha, is this really about Stella? I told you from the start, she holds the highest place in my heart.”

I cut him off.

“No, I want to break up with you because of you.”

“My gut tells me that Stella hasn’t truly accepted me, and Kian and Spencer still look at me with hostility.”

I looked at Kian and Spencer, and both men awkwardly shifted their eyes away.

I continued, “I’m choosing to break up with you now because I like you, and I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”

“I’ll come back when Stella and the others genuinely accept me.”

With that final, dramatic line, I turned and walked away.

To complete the performance, I went straight back to my dorm and blocked Jax on every platform.