“What the fuck are you doing?!” he burst out. From the beginning, that had been his reaction—repulsion, disgust at finding me asleep beside him. It made my chest tighten, and I shrank into myself, the room suddenly feeling far too vast. He shouted again, looking around. “What the fuck are you doing, Sophie?! Are you bloody insane?! Did you take advantage of me while I was drunk?!” His voice cracked with fury as he yanked on his clothes in a frenzy.
I stared, horrified, and shaking my head, my whole body trembling. “What? No—”
“Fuck you!”
“Zi—please—” I tried to rise, but my feet felt heavy when he snapped again, his voice dark and venomous.
“Stay the fuck away from me.” His threat wasn’t loud. It was certain. His movements were hurried as he continued dressing.
I twisted the sheets in my fists. “Zi, please, sit down. After what happened last night, we need to talk—” But I never finished, because Zioh cut me down with words that sliced through me.
“After what happened last night?” he repeated, his tone glacial. “Ah, yes. I was drunk, and when I woke up, I found myself trapped in this bloody mess.” He stared at me as if I were something he wanted to ruin. “Tell me how exactly you seduced me last night, huh?” His body was taut and shaking. “I know you’re a fucking slag, but I didn’t know you’d do this to me as well.”
The cruelty in his words made my vision blur as tears poured down. “ZIOH!” Acid burned up my throat. Maybe it wouldn’t have cut so deep if it had been anyone else. But because it was him… Only him… It carved through me.
Once, Zioh was the first to stand up whenever someone hurt me. But now, it turned out he was the one who hurt me the most, in the worst way possible.
“It wasn’t me who seduced you last night, it wasn’t—”
“Oh, so it was me then?” His voice dripped with sarcasm, eyes full of contempt. He pressed, “Say the one who seduced a drunk man!”
“What a fucking slag, Sophi—” He stopped, closing his eyes and shaking his head before straightening his clothes.
“Jerk,” I choked the words out. “You are such a jerk, Zioh.”
“Fucking evil.” I stared at him as he strode to the door, body shaking with fury.
“Same as you.” With that, Zioh left, leaving me alone in a silent room, and only my sobs filled the air.
If it were that simple, Zioh...
I wished it were so that I could feel the same. But the truth was, I couldn’t.
Slut.
That word turned my stomach.
That word left a bruise no one could see, which was why I kept myself distant from any men in my office. My breath caught at the thought that the label could be thrown at me. I’d avoided that word as if it were a plague.
And yet, I heard it again.
This time, from someone who used to always force me to admit that I was a princess.
Now I should be able to hate him, right? Surely I should? That thought screamed in my mind hundreds of times, but my heart denied it thousands more.
Maybe because my heart was confused too, even as my brain screamed, it still kept every memory of us intact. None of them was erased, and it always won.
I’d tried and tried to dig up his broken promises, the wounds he left me with for years. But no matter how deep I dug, no hatred came.
Only pain that kept returning, each time deeper.
Pulling the blanket over my head, I hoped the darkness would carry me into the depths of my subconscious. Only for a moment, I wanted to quiet my mind.
“TSHABINA!!” A booming voice echoed from downstairs, but I didn’t have the strength to respond. I let out a long sigh, resigned to the fact that I was never destined to live in peace.
The voice grew louder, and heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. It was still nine a.m., and the last thing I wanted was this racket outside my room.
The next second, my door burst open with a loud crash. “BIBA—” Andi barged in, breathless. “Hot fucking news! You have to see this—wait…” His voice faltered, and the commotion ended instantly as his eyes fell on me. “What’s wrong?”
