Elara's mind raced, heart pounding in her chest like a drum. Every instinct screamed at her to run, to flee before she stumbled into another disaster. But curiosity, stubborn and unrelenting, rooted her to the spot. She needed to know.
Slowly, almost painfully, she edged closer to the door, straining to hear. The voices were clearer now—grunts, soft pleas, occasional sharp cries. A sick twist of dread churned in her stomach. Is Damon… in trouble? Or is this another trap? Another mistake I'm about to make?
Her fingers hovered over the doorknob, trembling. One push, and she'd be inside, confronting whatever awaited her. One step back, and she could escape, preserving her pride—but not her peace of mind.
With a sharp inhale, Elara made her choice. Her curiosity, guilt, and love for Damon outweighed her fear. She gritted her teeth, pressed herself against the wall, and slowly, cautiously, opened the door—ready to face the truth, whatever it might be.
Elara's hand trembled as she nudged the door open, every second stretching like eternity. Shadows moved inside Damon's room, and the sounds that reached her ears were unmistakable—moans, grunts, sharp cries—urgent, heated, and impossible to ignore.
Her eyes widened in disbelief and horror. There they were—Damon, Vivienne—her step-sister and best friend—and Lucian, tangled together in a passion that made her blood run cold.
Time seemed to stop. Her heart slammed violently against her ribs. Anger, betrayal, and heartbreak collided, leaving her breathless.
No… no… this can't be happening… Her mind scrambled, refusing to accept the cruel truth her eyes confirmed.
Fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms. She had come to make amends, to deliver a gift, to fix yesterday's mistakes—but instead, she had walked straight into the ultimate betrayal.
Her voice, raw and trembling, cut through the charged silence: "Damon… what… what is this?!"
All three froze. Damon's eyes widened in panic. Vivienne's face drained of color, but there was no attempt to move or cover herself. Lucian's expression twisted between shock and guilt. The room, once familiar and safe, now felt like a cage of lies, lust, and heartbreak.
Elara's legs threatened to buckle beneath her, fury and disbelief warring with the deep sting of betrayal. She had been desperate, foolish, and naive—but this… this was beyond anything she had imagined.
Damon was the first to break the frozen silence. His voice was calm—eerily calm—but there was no hint of shame or guilt.
"Well, since you're already here… you can join if you want. You've already figured it out, so there's nothing more to hide," he said, his tone casual, almost mocking, as if her presence didn't matter and his actions carried no weight.
Elara's chest tightened, and her eyes burned as hot tears streaked down her face. Her heart shattered into a million jagged pieces.
Her stomach twisted violently, a deep churn of nausea flooding her senses. She felt bile rise in her throat, the sickening reality clawing at her from the inside. She had come eager, hungry to see him, to make amends—and now she was faced with a scene so vile it threatened to undo her entirely.
Her knees wobbled, nearly giving way, and a sharp retch rose in her throat, though she hadn't even eaten. The cruel irony of it—her anticipation and hope shattered in one devastating moment—made the taste of revulsion even worse.
Elara took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself, to regain some shred of sanity amidst the whirlwind of shock and disgust. That's when her eyes caught something on the floor—a phone, dropped near her feet.
Without thinking, she snatched it up. She didn't know whose it was, but it didn't matter. The screen was unlocked, no password required, and her mind, sharp despite the chaos in her chest, seized the opportunity.
She tapped the social media app and went live, her hands trembling but her resolve hardening. "Hello everyone," she said, her voice shaking with rage and pain, yet laced with a dangerous clarity. "I'm here to show you an amazing scene—my boyfriend and my bestie, aka stepsister, cheating on me. Oh, and they're doing it with his amazing friend too!"
Even lovesick and brokenhearted, Elara was far from defenseless. She wasn't the kind of girl to let herself be bullied or humiliated. She had always been the one to turn the tables on the bullies, and she refused to let this go unnoticed.
Before she could finish, Lucian lunged. His hands knocked the phone from her grip, slamming her against the wall with brutal force. Pain shot through her, and the world spun, but her defiance remained. He snatched the phone and quickly disconnected the live, trying to erase the evidence.
Elara gasped, pressing her back to the wall, fury and humiliation burning through her veins.
Elara lurched to her feet, blood beading hot at her temple. "Ahh—" she gasped, lunging for the phone, but Damon moved faster.
He crossed the room with an animal calm and slammed his hand around her throat. Iron closed in; air was a memory. Panic flared behind her eyes. She clawed at his fingers, tears carving hot tracks down her face from equal parts pain and betrayal. "W—why?" she forced out, voice a shredded whisper.
Damon's features went hard, utterly without pity. Is this the man I loved? The thought floated and died inside her. For a breathless second the room tilted and the will to fight thinned to a thread. Then, as suddenly as he'd crushed the life from her lungs, he released her.
She collapsed back, coughing, bile sour at the back of her throat. Her fingers tasted copper. She pressed them to her temple, trying to hold herself together. "I trusted you," she said, voice breaking but bright with accusation. "Viv—Damon—after everything I sacrificed… is this how you repay me?"
Remorse would have been mercy. Instead they offered contempt.
"Love?" Damon laughed—soft, cruel. "I didn't love you. I dated you because you're beautiful and your family is useful." His hand cupped her face like a lover's, but there was nothing tender in the gesture. If the room hadn't already been consumed by betrayal, the touch would have disgusted her.
"When I found out Adrian was obsessed with you, I used it," he said, each word deliberate. "It gave me leverage. Now I have what I need to destroy him. You're expendable." A slow, lethal smirk spread across his mouth. "I could end you."
The words landed like fists. Elara's breath stopped. End you. Her world narrowed to the sound of her own heartbeat—fast, bright, dangerously alive. "Why… how…?" she croaked, each question smaller than the one before.
Vivienne stepped forward, her tone dripping with poison. "You always had everything—money, Damon, Adrian's devotion. You flaunted it, never cherished it. So I took it. I'll take everything."
Elara's eyes burned. Her heart splintered, but she refused to give them the satisfaction of watching her collapse. She straightened, hands trembling, and let a slow, brittle clap echo in the room.
"Finally… the masks fall," she whispered. Her voice shook, but her stare was unwavering.