Chloe had a friend named Nicole Aniston. Nicole was charismatic, adventurous, and had a knack for making every day feel like a movie scene. For years, Chloe felt lucky to be in Nicole’s orbit. They’d grab expensive lattes, post matching selfies with clever captions, and laugh at inside jokes that made others feel like outsiders.

Chloe looked at the request. She felt no anger, only a calm, quiet clarity. She thought of the helpful lesson she had learned: Sometimes, unfriending isn’t an attack. It’s a door closing so a window can open. You don’t owe your peace to someone who mistakes your presence for an audience.

One evening, after a particularly exhausting group chat where Nicole had subtly mocked Chloe’s new creative project, Chloe sat alone with her laptop. Her cursor hovered over Nicole’s profile picture—a radiant, filtered shot from a tropical vacation Chloe hadn’t even known about.

She clicked the button. Unfriend.