Chapter 26

Tori’s POV

I had her cornered in the hallway, my grip firm around her wrist as I pulled her to a stop before she could walk past me again, because at that point I had had enough of the cold shoulders and silent treatment.

I needed answers, and probably more than that, I needed to understand why she was looking at me like I had betrayed her in the worst way possible, because whether I wanted to admit it or not, it hurt.

"Are you seriously trying to act like you don’t know what you did?" she asked, her voice sharp, her expression still carrying that same scorn that hadn’t left her face since morning.

She tugged her wrist out of my hold, clearly irritated, and let out a breath like she was trying to steady herself.

"I tried to check up on you after everything that happened," she continued, her voice faltering slightly as she spoke, and for a moment, her eyes drifted to the ceiling like she was fighting something back. "But instead, I saw the both of you... right there. Kissing. And I just stood there like an idiot because I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do."

My lips parted, but no words came out.

It was like my voice had abandoned me at the worst possible moment. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"How well do you even know Kael?" I finally asked, my tone quieter now, but steadier, because if there was ever a time for the truth, it was now.

Her brows furrowed immediately. "Why would you ask me that?

"Do you know about the competition he holds every year?" I pressed, watching her closely, but she only let out a slow, tired sigh, like she didn’t have the energy for whatever I was trying to say.

I glanced around quickly and noticed a nearby door slightly open, and without giving her time to question me further, I grabbed her wrist again and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind us.

"What exactly are you trying to—"

Her words died instantly, because I had already lifted my tunic.

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating, as her eyes fell on the scars scattered across my body, still too fresh to be ignored, still too real to be mistaken for anything else.

She moved closer without hesitation, her hands hovering before finally brushing lightly over my skin, careful, almost afraid to touch too hard, like she might hurt me more than I had already been hurt.

"How... ahow did you get these?" Her voice softened, the anger gone, replaced entirely with shock and concern. "And they look recent too..."

I pressed my lips together, forcing back the tears that threatened to rise, and wiped my face quickly before they could fall, because the last thing I wanted was to break down right there.

A small smile found its way onto my lips, but it didn’t reach my eyes. It couldn’t. I have been through a lot already, and I really do not want someone to pity me right now.

"I would rather die than get emotionally involved with someone who did all of this to me," I said quietly as I lowered my tunic back into place.

Her eyes widened slightly as realization began to settle in.

"Wait... you mean—"

I nodded before she could finish. Yes.

It was him.

Kael was the one who had done all of that to me.

And somehow, despite knowing that, despite living with those reminders on my skin, I had still let myself get that close to him the night before, and the guilt of it had been eating at me ever since.

She didn’t need to worry about me stealing him.If anything, I was trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

"I’m sorry," she said after a moment, her voice quieter now, weighed down with something close to regret. "I know there’s nothing I can say to excuse what he’s become..."

Her frustration was still there, buried under everything else, but this time it wasn’t directed at me.

"It’s fine. I guess those are one of the disadvantages of being weak." I said gently.

"I should go," I said, forcing another small smile as I stepped back toward the door. "I hope you find whatever it is that makes you happy, even if it’s hiM.I’m rooting for you too."

The words felt hollow even as I said them.

I didn’t wait for her response before walking out.

*******

The moment I stepped into my room, I stopped. Because he was already there.

Sitting casually at the edge of my bed like he belonged in the space, like nothing had changed, like last night hadn’t complicated everything beyond repair.

The irony of it made something twist in my chest, especially after everything I had just told Laura.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I walked past him, heading straight for the window to draw the curtains, blocking out the sunlight that suddenly felt too harsh. "I already got enough light."

"I came to check on you," he replied simply.

A dry laugh almost escaped me. Check up on me? What the hell came over him?

"Since when did you start caring about me?" I shot back, turning to face him fully. "You don’t have to pretend, Kael. Not with me."

There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

"I wanted us to go out today." He paused, while he slowly stood up. "You should get to know what life is over here before you go back to that hell hope again. I don’t think there’d be any break for you."

I stared at him, disbelief settling in almost instantly.

"What’s the point of all this?" I asked, my voice rising despite myself. "At the end of the day, you’re still going to treat me the same way once we go back there, back to that competition where I’m not even sure if I’ll survive."

He sighed, and that alone told me everything I needed to know.

I wasn’t wrong.

"Fine," he said after a moment. "Whatever you say, Tori."

The sound of my name coming from him caught me off guard for a second, because it was the first time he had ever said it like that, but I quickly pushed the feeling aside before it could mean anything more than it should.

No.

He didn’t get to change now.

"If you really want to go out with someone, go with Laura," I said as I walked to the door and pulled it open, stepping aside to make it clear I wanted him gone.

I didn’t know where the sudden boldness was coming from, but I held onto it tightly, because I knew I wouldn’t always have it, especially not around him.

"I don’t want to go out with Laura," he replied, his tone firmer now. "I want to go out with you. Do you not understand?"

I frowned, my face twisting slightly in disbelief as I looked at him.

"Can’t you see that she’s in love with you?" I said, my voice sharp. "You’ve known each other your whole lives, and I’m not about to come in between that. The last thing I want is to lose the only real friendship I have here because of you."

"What?"

"I said she’s in love with you."

"I didn’t ask you to tell him how I feel."

The voice came from behind us.

We both turned at the same time.

Laura stood there, her expression a mix of anger and hurt, her eyes fixed on me like I had just crossed a line I could never come back from.

"Why do you always ruin everything?" she snapped.

And just like that, whatever fragile balance we had left shattered completely.

Fuck. I messed up again. She walked right out of the room before I could get to utter another word.

I shook my head in annoyance while I ran after her. I needed to calm her down.

"It had gotten to the point where I just had to say it. I didn’t have any choice." I shouted, while I ran behind her trying to explain the whole situation, but she doesn’t give a shit anymore.

"It’s getting to me too, and the few days we have been together do not want it to make me lose you." I furthered and she stopped walking.

"I wanted to tell him myself, and have a special moment." She mentioned.

I didn’t know what else to say to her in a situation like this.

"I didn’t want to have any choice and I was trying to avoid the situation with me. The pressure was too much on me too and I just had to do that too."

She sighed. I didn’t know what was going on in her mind at the moment. She slowly walked towards me, pulling me into her embrace.

Wait! Was that it? She was just going to forgive me that way?

"Let’s put this past us and let’s enjoy the few days we have together. You will be going soon, and let’s not use this to hold grudges against each other." She stated.

Finally!