Do Women Really Have a Girl Code?

Category: Heart of the Matter

Imani and Jade had been inseparable since college, bonded over late-night study sessions, questionable dating choices, and a shared belief that good girlfriends were forever. They had a code, an unspoken agreement that no matter what, they had each other’s backs.

That was, until Jade started showing up places with him.

Him.

Roman. The man who shattered Imani’s life into tiny, irreparable pieces. The man who lied, cheated, and even had the audacity to steal money from her business account while swearing he was “just moving things around.” The man who had turned a breakup into a full-on war, complete with smear campaigns, gaslighting, and enough fake tears to fill an ocean.

Imani barely survived him. And Jade knew that.

So imagine Imani’s shock when she walked into a café and saw her sister, her supposed ride-or-die, sitting across from Roman, sipping on an overpriced lavender latte like he hadn’t terrorized her best friend for two years straight.

At first, she thought maybe Jade had been kidnapped. Maybe Roman had something on her. Maybe this was one of those “blink twice if you’re in danger” situations.

But then, Jade laughed.

A full-bodied, head-tilted-back, I actually enjoy your company laugh.

Imani stood frozen. A thousand thoughts fought for space in her mind. Does she not remember the nights I cried on her couch? The times she swore she’d fight this man on sight? The way she used to call him a ‘walking red flag with a mouthpiece’?

Jade turned and spotted her, her face shifting from surprise to something else. Not guilt. Not even shame. Just… indifference.

“I was gonna tell you,” she said later, when Imani demanded an explanation.

“Tell me what?” Imani asked, arms crossed, voice calm in that scary kind of way.

“That we’re cool now. He apologized to me for everything that happened between you two. Said he’s grown.”

Imani stared at her, waiting for the punchline.

“So, let me get this straight,” she said finally. “He didn’t apologize to me, the person he actually hurt, but he gave you a heartfelt redemption speech over brunch, and now you’ve decided he’s a good guy?”

Jade sighed, exasperated. “You’re being dramatic. People change, Imani.”

“And so do friendships, apparently.”

Silence stretched between them. Imani felt something crack, but it wasn’t her heart, it was the illusion that they were still on the same team.

See, people love to talk about “girl code,” but what happens when the code starts working against you? When it stops being about loyalty and starts being about obligation? Imani realized then that she’d been following rules Jade didn’t even believe in.

And that was the thing about unspoken agreements.

Sometimes, you find out too late that you were the only one who signed the contract.

This keeps the same deep, introspective message but adds layers through a personal story. You get the betrayal, the realization, and the question of whether girl code is real or just convenient.