I confronted my friend for what he did, but he completely denied everything and now I feel even more betrayed.

This has been eating me up for a long time, and I finally need to get it out. Maybe just writing it down will help me make peace with it.

So here's the story:

I (21M) had two really close friends in college — a guy and a girl. We were kind of a trio. Everything was fine until the guy (let’s call him K) got into a relationship. During that time, he was chill with me, no issues at all. But the moment he broke up with his girlfriend, everything shifted — and I felt it deeply.

On the day of his breakup, K asked me if I liked our mutual girl friend. Then he made this weird statement, saying, "Since we both are close to her, obviously I’ll feel scared that if I’m not available, you’ll be there. And same will happen to you." Then he added, "Whoever confesses first, the other shouldn’t hold a grudge."

At the time, I didn’t overthink it. But after that, his whole behavior toward me changed — he became distant, cold, almost insecure when I talked to her. A few months later, I found out that he confessed his feelings to her without telling me. She refused, but remained friends with him.

Later, when I told him that I felt hurt and betrayed — that he had acted jealous and competitive — he completely denied everything. He said:

“You made all this up in your head.”

“I was never competitive.”

“I always behaved well toward you.”

“You encouraged me to confess.”

That last part really stung. I only encouraged him when he himself told me things like ‘I said I like her and she said thank you’ — like fishing for hope. Now he’s flipping it on me like I pushed him into it.

I kept this to myself for 4 months, and when I finally confronted him — calmly — he made me feel like I imagined it all. That I’m overthinking. That it’s my fault.

What’s worse? The girl knows some of it and even advised me to talk to him. But now, she still treats him like nothing happened. I respect her bond with him, but it hurts when I see them together laughing — knowing the guy next to her completely dismissed my pain.

I'm not jealous of their bond — I’m hurt that my pain was made invisible. That our friendship seems to have meant nothing when his ego got involved. That after everything, I’m the one feeling guilty for speaking up.

Am I wrong for feeling betrayed? For still being hurt? For wanting distance?