How to describe a character dealing with a betrayal from one of their closest friends?

Question

The character who gets betrayed is my main character, who is practically left to die by her closest childhood friend. My MC is the type of character to wholeheartedly believes and trusts in her friends, so this betrayal comes as a huge shock to her. I want her to gradually lose trust in the people around her, including her other friends and family, and distance herself from them. For a while, she still cares about her friend who betrayed her, yet a part of her hates her deeply for betraying her and another one of her friends.

How can I describe this, while still not dragging it out too much, as I do have a rather strict word count to stick to?

Answer 1

You can lookup behavioural patterns for inspiration, like:

• gaslighting and narcissist personality for the "betrayer".

• "gullible" or "trustingly" or "empathic personality" and "depressive behaviour" for the "victim".