He Staged the Ultimate Birthday “Prank” — But What I Discovered After Going Missing Changed Everything
Last week was my birthday, and for once I thought I was getting something simple.
I left work early, smiling to myself in the car, imagining takeout, sweatpants, maybe a quiet movie night with Alex. Nothing big. Nothing dramatic. I had made it very clear I didn’t want a party.
The house looked normal when I pulled into the driveway.
The lights were on. The curtains were drawn. It felt safe, ordinary — like every other evening I’d walked through that front door.
Until I opened it.
There was a woman lying on top of my boyfriend.
Not sitting close. Not laughing awkwardly.
On top of him.
Her hair spilled across his chest. His hands were at her waist. And when he saw me standing there, frozen in the doorway, his face drained of color before he shoved her off and jumped to his feet.
I turned immediately.
I didn’t scream. I didn’t ask questions. I just walked toward the door because my body knew before my brain did — I was done.
He moved fast, blocking my path.
“It’s just a prank, sweetheart,” he said, breathless, reaching for me like I was overreacting.
And then, like some twisted sitcom reveal, ten of his friends burst up from the basement with a cake and presents, yelling “Surprise!”
My ears rang.
I was already crying. Not cute tears. Not emotional-overwhelmed tears. The kind that come from something splitting open inside your chest.
Alex frowned at me like I’d misunderstood something obvious.
“I know you said you didn’t want a party,” he said, voice sharp now, “but don’t you think this is cool?”
Cool.
I thought I had just been cheated on in my own living room.
When I didn’t immediately laugh it off, his expression changed.
“Oh my God,” he snapped, louder now, “stop being so sensitive. It was just a prank. I put all this effort in so you could have a fun time and you’re crying?”
Fun time.
The humiliation hit harder than the image I walked in on.
I pushed him out of my way. Hard.
I didn’t look at anyone else. I didn’t grab my coat. I didn’t explain myself.
I got in my car and drove.
My phone started exploding before I made it out of the neighborhood. Calls. Texts. Notifications stacking on top of each other so fast I couldn’t even see the screen properly.
When it became too distracting to drive, I pulled over and shut it off completely.
Silence.
I drove to a hotel far enough away that no one would think to look for me. By the time I got inside the room and the door clicked shut behind me, I collapsed onto the bed and sobbed until my chest hurt.
The next morning, my eyes were swollen and my voice sounded like I had swallowed glass.
I called my team leader first and told her I needed a few days off due to an emergency. She didn’t press. She just said, “Take care of yourself.” I could tell she heard the strain in my voice.
Right now, I plan on calling my aunt.
She lives nearby. She’s steady. Safe. I need somewhere quiet to think.
Because I am deeply heartbroken.
I’ve told Alex before — more than once — how cheating destroyed my family when I was a kid. My mom cheated on my dad, and it shattered everything. I watched my father become a different person. I watched trust evaporate.
Then my first boyfriend cheated on me too.
I told Alex all of that.
I thought he understood.
Maybe time away from all of them will help me figure out what to do next. I don’t know yet.
Update One
I packed my things and drove to my aunt’s house.
It wasn’t far, but it felt like I was crossing into a different version of my life.
When she opened the door, she didn’t ask questions. She just pulled me into a tight hug and said, “You’re always welcome here.” The kind of hug that doesn’t feel performative. The kind that feels like oxygen.
She showed me to the spare bedroom and helped me unpack like I wasn’t temporarily running from my own relationship.
She’s honestly the mom I always wished I had.
Once I finished unpacking, the reality hit me again.
I hadn’t turned my phone back on.
I’d avoided it for so long that the idea of facing whatever waited there made my stomach twist. But I knew I had to.
When it booted up, the screen flooded with notifications.
Hundreds. Text messages. Missed calls. Group chats. Direct messages.
It was overwhelming.
I opened the friend group chat first.
At the top, the messages were frantic — “Where are you?” “Are you okay?” “Answer us.” But as I scrolled, the tone shifted. Apologies started appearing. Confusion. People saying the prank wasn’t supposed to go that way.
One friend even blamed the girl who had been on top of Alex, saying she seemed “off” and “untrustworthy.”
By the time I reached the newest messages, they were all hoping I was safe.
As soon as I finished reading, the chat lit up again. They could see I was online.
“How are you?”
“Where are you?”
“We’re so sorry.”
They apologized for not stopping the prank. Said they didn’t know it would happen like that. Said the original prank was supposed to be something else entirely.
That’s when I got confused.
Because they had seemed pretty happy that night. Pretty entertained.
So before reacting, I apologized for ghosting and asked them to explain everything from the beginning.
Apparently, the original plan was just a surprise party.
Alex had created a group chat without me and invited everyone.
Then he added a few college friends who wanted to “meet me.”
One of those college friends pitched the prank idea.
The original concept, according to them, was staged horror — fake prop, fake scenario, exaggerated acting. Something over-the-top and obviously theatrical, since I love horror movies.
They insisted the plan was to reveal it immediately after capturing my reaction, then surprise me properly with cake and gifts.
My friends were hesitant, they said.
But Alex’s college friends reassured them it would be harmless. Quick reveal. No dragging it out.
They all agreed — as long as it ended fast.
On my birthday, they hid downstairs while Alex’s college friends set everything up. They waited for his signal to come out.
When they heard him call them up, they thought the prank had been a success because I looked mortified.
But they said something felt wrong when I didn’t relax after the reveal.
Even after the lights came on and everyone shouted surprise, I still looked… shattered.
That’s when they realized something had gone off script.
Because the girl who was on top of Alex wasn’t wearing any costume.
There was no prop.
No staged scenario.
She was just… on him.
They said they saw Alex shove her off and chase after me. Some of them tried to follow. Others were asking what happened to the original plan.
They said everything unraveled fast.
And not long after that, they realized I was missing and started calling and texting.
But what they don’t know yet — and what I’m still trying to understand — is why the original prank changed at the last second.
Because according to them…
It was never supposed to look like cheating.
And if that’s true, then something happened in those few minutes before I walked through the door.
And I still don’t know what that was…
Continue in C0mment 👇👇
wouldn’t have minded it at all since I love scary movies and an avid horror enjoyer that was then they realized that my bf’s female college friend was on top of my BF not wearing any costume and not holding any fake red knife they then saw my BF pushing his female college friend away from him and chasing after me some of them also tried to follow me while some were asking what happened to the original plan even my bf’s other college
friends were wondering why their female friend wasn’t in costume but she was just silent after a few minutes my BF came back to our apartment looking distraught and crying he then tells everyone that they should all go and proceeds to go to our bedroom they wanted to ask him what happened but he shut the door before they could his female college friend Then followed him inside which really weirded them out but after a while they hear my BF shouting at her telling her her to f off she then goes out the door on the verge of tears
and leaves the apartment they said everything happened so fast that they didn’t know how to process all that had happened not too long after that though they realized that I was missing and started calling and texting me but I didn’t respond to any of them eventually I was unreachable I turned off my phone and decided they should just go home and wait for me to respond my bf’s college friends apologized profusely to what has happened and didn’t mean for any of this to happen but they basically just ignored them they Then followed their
retelling of their side with videos that they’ve recoded that proved their accounts along with an apology and wishing that I was doing well after my friends told me what happened on their point of view I felt really terrible and apologized again for ghosting them and telling them that everything that happened was none of their fault I told them that I would make it up to them soon but they reassured me that they accept my apology and are just happy that I’m alive and well they also pitched to have a late birthday
celebration with me this weekend and my boyfriend and his friends aren’t included this time I of course happily agreed and thanked them for being such great friends and that I really couldn’t thank them enough for being such an awesome bunch of people the morning of the next day my aunt knocks on my door and wakes me up telling me that I have a visitor downstairs she looked a bit mad so I can already tell who it was it was my boyfriend Alex caring this beautiful bouquet of flowers and my favorite chocolates with him even if he looked
amazing his face was the complete opposite because he looked like he was crying for days I asked him how he found out about where I was and told me that once I turned on my phone again an app on my phone notified him of my whereabouts I was a bit frustrated that he actually came here to my aunt’s house but nevertheless he was already there so might as well just hear him out on what he had to say he basically reiterated what my friends told me but he added in some more details that my friends didn’t know about apparently his old College
friends reconnected with him after he lost touch with them after they graduated they found his Facebook account through some searching and wanted to ask him about his life after all these years they were especially happy when he told them that he currently has a boyfriend because they secretly knew he was bisexual but didn’t want to make assumptions or make him feel weird about it Alex eventually tells them about me and he mentions that him and our friends are planning a secret birthday surprise for me and they
immediately wanted to be a part of it after they were added to the group chat they started suggesting ideas on how to make the surprise much more fun until their female friend will’ll call her Anna suggested that they do a prank to surprise me Alex’s College friends were immediately on board because they saw Tik toks of it and they thought it was really funny but my friends were obviously skeptical eventually they agreed what the prank is going to be and that the prank wouldn’t take too long Anna volunteered to be the serial on a
liver since it was her idea and they all went and did their parts of the surprise so that everything would be ready when my birthday comes the day of the surprise party comes and everyone prepares for my arrival when Anna and Alex went into their assigned positions for the prank he wondered why she still wasn’t in her costume and that her props was missing but all she could reply was that she forgot Alex offers to find the costume and props but Anna insists that there’s no more time and that I was going to arrive soon Alex at this point
was extremely uncomfortable and wanted to get out of their position but before he could do it I’ve already opened the door and saw them he admits that he messed up and so he called everyone to come out to save himself from the embarrassment and give context to what I was seeing when he realized that that didn’t work he got caught up in the emotions of it all and that’s why he spoke to me in such an aggressive and ill-mannered way when I left he said he forcefully pushed Anna away to chase after me but he wasn’t able to keep up
once I got into my car it then sunk into him that he messed up big time and that when I drove away that’s when he remembered my trauma about cheating which made him cry while returning to our apartment he tells everyone to leave and Retreats to our bedroom not really knowing what to do to his shock Anna comes inside our room unannounced and starts comforting Alex he repeatedly tells her to leave and that he’ll be fine but what really set him off was Anna asking him so does that mean you’re single now that’s when he realized she
did it on purpose Alex then shouts at her and angrily asks her to leave which she then complies to after looking like she just embarrassed herself Alex is in tears at this point and he tells me that he wishes he just didn’t agree with the prank he’s cut off contact with his college friends for now and is incredibly sorry about what happened he then starts hugging me really tightly and says that he loves me so much and that he’s scared of losing me his words alone also made me cry because even after everything I still love him deeply
and I do believe everything he said after a minute or two of was hugging and crying he lets go of me and tells me that we should back together to our apartment but that if I still need time and space he’ll gladly give it to me I gave him a kiss and respond to him with me asking him to help me pack my stuff of course I gave my aunt the warmest of hugs and told her how much I appreciated her for helping me she was happy things got resolved but also jokingly threatened my boyfriend that if he did something stupid or hurtful to me again
she’ll personally whisk me away to safety and away from him my boyfriend laughed but I think he was just hiding his nervousness now I’m back in our apartment and Alex even offered to throw away the couch that was used for the prank but I declined since it’s a pretty nice couch and everything that has happened was something no one wanted aside Anna probably I’ve already made amends with my boyfriend and we’ve both forgiven each other and my friends are happy that things worked out in the end update too so a few days later Alex came
up to me while sobbing and confessed that he hadn’t told me the complete truth about Anna apparently him and Anna were a couple back then she was his first girlfriend and he did a lot of his first with her once they graduated Anna broke things off with him because she can’t handle long-distance relationships and didn’t want to be tied down yet Anna breaking up with him caused him to go into a spiral and develop severe depression it took a lot of work for him to get out of that hole and be a functioning human adult again but things
apparently didn’t completely change for the better for him until he met me as I quote I was the light at the end of the tunnel that he desperately wanted to get out of but I guess ghosts from the past have their way of coming back to haunt you a few weeks before my birthday Alex’s College friends found his Facebook and contacted him to reconnect things went well for them until he was added into their group chat that had Anna in it as well as what he said it definitely reignited some old feelings that he had and it also didn’t help that
Anna was acting like nothing bad happened between the two of them they agreed to meet to catch up one thing led to another until that one thing ended up being them having intimacy every day up until the birthday surprise LEL it only really hit him how much he messed up and realized that he was doing something incredibly crappy when he saw my devastated face after seeing Anna on top of him for the prank that they supposedly planned for me according to him he was trying to bring back those strong feelings and emotions that he
once felt back when he was with Anna but seeing me look ruined and distraught made him realize that what he had with me was incomparable to what him and Anna had so I guess that’s what led him to confess and be all remorseful of course I had to hear him apologize and cry in front of me and I did cry too but I couldn’t bear being around him anymore after hearing all of that I then calmly told him that I accept his ol ology but that I didn’t want to be with him anymore and that I’d be leaving the apartment and sort things out once we’re
both in clearer states of mind he didn’t like that one bit and started sobbing like crazy and even went as far as hugging me incredibly tight just so that I wouldn’t go it was a struggle but I eventually got out of his clutches by pushing him away hard enough I ran as fast as I could to get to my car and immediately headed to my aunt’s house when I got there I just sobbed into my aunt’s arms and felt incredibly weak she probably understood why I was crying that much without asking me why so she started consoling me until I was too
tired to cry and slept yesterday I got a call from a friend of Alex that he’s in the hospital after being found unresponsive I didn’t want to go because I’m obviously still heard about everything but Alex doesn’t have any family anywhere near him and I’m the only one who knows about his medical history and details and technically his closest family so I had to right now I’m outside his hospital room waiting for his doctors to give me an update or tell me anything or something that I should do he also hasn’t woken up yet so I’m
bracing myself for when he does truthfully I do still love him very much but what he did just made it clear for me that we’re not meant to be together I don’t know what I’ll do moving forward after all of this but I’ll just let the universe take the wheel for me at this point I just wish things didn’t end up this way
I sat outside Alex’s hospital room with my back against a vending machine that only sold the kind of snacks you eat when you’ve forgotten what hunger feels like. The fluorescent lights above me made everyone’s skin look slightly wrong, like we were all made of paper. The air smelled like antiseptic and stale coffee—always those two scents, the twin perfumes of modern despair.
Every few minutes a nurse walked by with a clipboard, not looking at me, because hospitals train you to look past grief the way you look past a closed door. You can’t carry every story or you’d drown.
But I couldn’t look past mine.
Because behind that door was the man who had once made my favorite breakfast on Sundays and kissed my forehead like I was something precious. The same man who put another woman on top of him in our living room and called it a prank. The same man who tracked me without telling me. The same man who cried and begged and clung to me like a drowning person clings to the nearest floatation device—whether or not it can actually keep them alive.
The friend who called me had said, He was found unresponsive.
Not he had an accident.
Not he fainted.
Unresponsive is the word people use when the truth is sharp enough to cut your tongue.
My aunt sat beside me, arms crossed, her protective rage contained the way she contained everything—quiet, controlled, ready to erupt if someone tried to hurt me again. She hadn’t wanted to come. I hadn’t wanted her to come. But when she saw my hands shaking as I grabbed my keys, she’d simply taken her coat off the hook and said, “You’re not going alone.”
I’d learned, in the last week, that being alone was the most dangerous state my body could be in. Alone was where my mind replayed the couch scene until my stomach cramped. Alone was where I started bargaining with myself—Maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe I overreacted. Maybe I should—
No.
That’s why my aunt came.
At 9:36 p.m., a doctor finally approached. He was young—late thirties maybe—but his eyes looked older. His badge read Dr. Nguyen.
“Are you… the contact for Alex Mercer?” he asked gently.
I stood so fast my knees wobbled. “Yes,” I said. “I’m—” I swallowed hard, not sure what to call myself. Girlfriend. Ex. The person he cheated on. The person who still showed up.
“I’m his partner,” I said finally, because it was the simplest sentence my mouth could form.
Dr. Nguyen nodded, not correcting me. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Let’s talk somewhere private.”
He led us into a small consultation room with beige walls and a box of tissues on the table that looked like it had never been replaced because no one wanted to admit how often it was needed.
Dr. Nguyen sat down across from me, hands folded. “Alex was brought in by EMS about three hours ago,” he said. “He was found unresponsive by a friend. We suspect an overdose.”
The word landed like a brick.
“Overdose?” I whispered.
Dr. Nguyen nodded. “We administered Narcan in the field,” he said. “He responded. His breathing stabilized. He’s currently sedated and under observation.”
My chest tightened. “So he’s alive,” I said, the words sounding like disbelief.
“Yes,” Dr. Nguyen replied gently. “He’s alive.”
My aunt exhaled sharply beside me, relief and anger mixing.
I swallowed. “Was it intentional?” I asked, voice shaking. “Did he… try to—”
Dr. Nguyen hesitated. “We don’t know yet,” he said carefully. “But based on the amount and timing… it’s possible.”
Possible.
I stared at the table. My mind flashed to his sobbing confession. His desperate hug. His refusal to let go of me when I tried to leave. His history of depression.
Possible wasn’t just a medical word. It was a shadow that had been following him for years.
My aunt’s voice was low. “What did he take?”
Dr. Nguyen glanced at his notes. “We’re waiting on tox results,” he said. “But it appears to be opioids combined with alcohol.”
My stomach lurched. I pressed a hand to my mouth.
Dr. Nguyen’s tone softened further. “I need to ask,” he said gently. “Is there a history of substance use? Prescriptions? Previous attempts?”
I swallowed hard. “Depression,” I said. “He told me he spiraled after a breakup years ago. But he was… functioning. He had a job. Friends.”
Dr. Nguyen nodded. “Functioning doesn’t mean safe,” he said quietly.
I closed my eyes, tears burning.
My aunt leaned forward, voice firm. “Can she see him?” she asked.
Dr. Nguyen nodded. “Briefly,” he said. “But I want you to understand: he may wake disoriented. He may say things that are manipulative. He may try to bargain. If you feel unsafe or overwhelmed, step out and call staff.”
The way he said manipulative caught me. Doctors don’t usually say that unless they’ve seen something.
I opened my eyes. “You think he’ll manipulate me,” I whispered.
Dr. Nguyen didn’t flinch. “I think people in crisis sometimes reach for the fastest way to stop pain,” he said. “And sometimes that means grabbing onto the person they believe can save them.”
My chest tightened.
I nodded slowly. “Okay,” I whispered.
He stood and opened the door. “Let’s go,” he said.
We walked down the hall. My aunt stayed slightly behind me, her hand hovering near my elbow like she was ready to pull me back if needed.
Outside Alex’s room, a nurse stood with a clipboard. She looked at me kindly. “He’s asleep,” she said softly. “You can go in for a minute.”
I stepped inside.
Alex looked smaller in the bed, like the hospital had stripped him of the performance he used to hide behind. His hair was messy. His face pale. A cannula ran under his nose. His hand rested on the sheet, fingers limp.
I stood there frozen.
Because my heart didn’t know what to do with seeing him like this.
Anger flared first—hot and sharp. You did this. You chose this. You made me carry you even when you betrayed me.
Then grief surged—thick and heavy. He’s still someone I loved. He’s still human. He’s still hurting.
Then something else: relief.
Relief that he was alive.
And immediately, shame for feeling relief.
I stepped closer and sat in the chair beside his bed.
His eyelids fluttered slightly, and my breath caught.
Then he was still again.
I leaned forward, voice low. “Alex,” I whispered. “I’m here. But I’m not staying.”
My throat tightened as I said it, because it felt cruel to say in a room where a person might be dying inside.
But Dr. Nguyen’s warning echoed in my head: people bargain. People manipulate. People cling.
I couldn’t let my compassion become a cage again.
I reached out and touched his hand lightly—just the fingertips, not the full grasp that might feel like a promise.
His fingers twitched faintly, like his body recognized me before his brain did.
Tears slid down my cheeks silently.
“I wanted you to be who you said you were,” I whispered. “I wanted to go back to before. But you broke it. You broke me.”
Alex’s breathing shifted slightly.
Then his lips moved.
A whisper, barely audible.
“Don’t leave…”
My chest tightened violently.
My aunt stepped into the doorway, watching with hard eyes.
I swallowed. “I’m not abandoning you,” I whispered. “But I’m not your partner anymore.”
His eyelids fluttered again, and his brow furrowed, like he was trying to understand through the fog.
I stood slowly and stepped back, letting my aunt come closer.
She looked at Alex, then at me.
“Enough,” she murmured, gentle but firm. “You’ve done what you came to do.”
I nodded.
We left the room, and the hallway air hit me like a wave.
Outside, I leaned against the wall and finally let myself breathe properly.
Dr. Nguyen approached again, voice low. “We’ll keep him overnight,” he said. “Psych consult in the morning.”
I nodded, wiping my face. “Thank you,” I whispered.
He hesitated, then said, “You’re allowed to step away.”
The sentence hit me like permission I hadn’t known I needed.
“I know,” I whispered. “I just… don’t feel like I am.”
Dr. Nguyen’s gaze softened. “You are,” he said. “Caring doesn’t mean sacrificing yourself.”
We walked out of the hospital into cold night air. The parking lot lights made the world look bleached and tired.
My aunt opened the car door for me like I was fragile.
I got in and stared out the window as she drove.
“I feel like a monster,” I whispered.
My aunt’s voice stayed steady. “No,” she said. “You feel guilty because you have empathy. That’s not monstrosity. That’s humanity.”
I swallowed hard. “He cheated,” I whispered. “And he still made me come.”
My aunt’s jaw tightened. “He didn’t make you,” she corrected. “Your love did.”
I stared at my hands. “So what now?” I asked.
My aunt exhaled. “Now you protect yourself,” she said. “And you let professionals protect him.”
I nodded slowly.
But that night, lying in my aunt’s spare bed, I didn’t sleep.
I kept replaying the sequence like a loop: couch, prank, my tears, his anger, his confession, my escape, his collapse.
And under it all was the question that haunted me:
Was this just betrayal… or something darker?
Because the “prank” wasn’t just hurtful.
It was designed. It was staged. It involved an audience. It involved humiliation. It involved him blocking the door and telling me to stop crying like my pain was inconvenient.
That wasn’t just immaturity.
That was cruelty.
And cruelty doesn’t disappear because someone cries afterward.
It just changes tactics.
The next morning, Dr. Nguyen called.
“Alex is awake,” he said. “He’s asking for you.”
My stomach tightened.
I looked at my aunt, who was standing in the doorway holding coffee.
She raised an eyebrow, already knowing.
“No,” I said quietly into the phone. “I’m not coming.”
Dr. Nguyen paused. “Okay,” he said. “Do you want us to tell him anything?”
I swallowed. “Tell him he needs help,” I said. “And I hope he takes it. But I’m done.”
Dr. Nguyen’s voice was gentle. “Understood,” he said. “We’ll connect him with psych.”
When I hung up, my aunt sat beside me on the bed.
“You did the right thing,” she said.
I stared at the wall. “It doesn’t feel like it,” I whispered.
My aunt nodded. “That’s how you know it’s real,” she said.
Two days later, Alex’s friend texted me:
He’s furious you didn’t come. Says you’re cold. Says you ruined him.
I stared at the message and felt something settle in my chest.
There it was.
Even in crisis, he was rewriting the story.
Even after cheating, even after humiliating me, even after overdosing, he still wanted to make me the villain.
Because if he could make me the villain, he could avoid being responsible.
I didn’t reply.
Instead, I opened my notes app and began listing everything that had happened—dates, times, messages, screenshots.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Because I finally understood: if someone is willing to manipulate reality, you need your own record of it.
A week later, I learned the disturbing secret.
Not from Alex.
From Anna.
She messaged me from a new account, her tone dripping with smugness:
He didn’t tell you the best part.
My stomach dropped.
Then she sent a screenshot.
A group chat.
Timestamped the week before my birthday.
Alex. Anna. Several of his college friends.
And a line from Alex that made my blood go cold:
Make sure she sees you on top of me. That will break her. Then she’ll cling harder.
I stared at the screen until my vision blurred.
Break her. Cling harder.
It wasn’t a prank.
It was a strategy.
A trap.
My hands shook violently as I scrolled further.
Another message from Alex:
If she leaves, I’ll tell everyone she’s unstable. She has trauma. Easy.
And then Anna, laughing:
You’re evil. I love it.
I felt nauseous. I ran to the bathroom and vomited.
When I came back out, my aunt was waiting in the hallway, eyes sharp.
“What happened?” she asked.
I handed her the phone.
She read the messages slowly, her face tightening with every line.
When she finished, she looked up at me with a kind of calm fury that made my skin prickle.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “Now we go to the police.”
My throat tightened. “Is it enough?” I whispered. “They didn’t physically—”
My aunt cut me off. “It’s coercion,” she said. “It’s harassment. It’s evidence of a deliberate psychological manipulation designed to trap you. And if he’s willing to do this… he’s willing to escalate.”
The truth landed hard.
This wasn’t just heartbreak.
This was danger.
And for the first time since my birthday, I didn’t feel confused anymore.
I felt clear.
Because the universe wasn’t taking the wheel.
I was.
