Chapter 63: What really happened to Felix part 2

( this Chapter is a continuation of the previous Chapter. It’s told from a third person’s pov)

Felix slowly lowered the photographs.

The anger that had filled the room only moments ago seemed to drain out of him, leaving behind something far worse. The shouting, the accusations, the disbelief—Raina could have endured those. What she wasn’t prepared for was the look in his eyes now.

It was heartbreak.

Raw, genuine heartbreak.

"I loved you."

The words struck her harder than any accusation ever could.

For a moment she couldn’t breathe.

Felix looked away from her, his jaw tightening as though even speaking had become painful.

"I came here to tell you that."

Raina stared at him.

Unable to move.

Unable to respond.

Unable to undo any of what had already happened.

"I came here because I wanted to fix things," he continued quietly. "I thought maybe we could work through whatever was happening between us."

His gaze drifted over the room.

Over the photographs scattered across the bed.

Over the notes.

Over the years of secrets she had hidden beneath floorboards and locked away from the world.

Then he laughed again.

A hollow sound.

Not angry.

Not bitter.

Just defeated.

"And this is what I find."

Tears finally spilled down Raina’s cheeks.

"Felix..."

He didn’t answer.

Or perhaps he couldn’t.

Because it seemed as though he was no longer looking at the room in front of him. He was looking backward instead, revisiting every memory they had shared together and seeing it differently now. Every conversation. Every smile. Every moment that once felt meaningful.

Now each one had become a lie.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, he asked the question that would haunt her long after this day ended.

"Was any of it real?"

Raina froze.

Felix met her gaze.

There was no anger left in his eyes.

Only pain.

The kind that came from discovering that the person you trusted most had never really belonged to you at all.

"At any point."

The silence stretched.

Heavy.

Merciless.

"Did you ever actually think of me as your boyfriend?"

Her throat tightened painfully.

Because there was no answer she could give that wouldn’t destroy him.

And her hesitation became an answer all on its own.

Felix closed his eyes.

Slowly.

As though gathering together whatever remained of himself.

When he opened them again, something fundamental had changed.

Something had broken.

"I’m sorry," Raina whispered.

The apology sounded pathetic the moment it left her mouth.

Worthless.

"I cared about you."

Felix stared at her.

Then shook his head.

"You cared about me?"

A broken laugh escaped him.

"I gave you my heart."

The photographs slipped from his fingers and drifted onto the floor.

"And all you can tell me is that you cared about me."

Raina couldn’t stop crying.

The guilt was crushing her.

But Felix wasn’t looking at her anymore.

Instead, he crouched and began gathering the photographs.

One by one.

Carefully.

Methodically.

At first she didn’t understand what he was doing.

Then he spoke.

And her blood ran cold.

"I’m showing these to Ethan."

The room seemed to stop.

Every sound vanished.

Even her breathing.

"What?"

"He deserves to know."

Panic exploded inside her chest.

"Felix—"

"He deserves to know exactly who you are."

No.

The thought slammed into her mind so hard it almost hurt.

Not Ethan.

Anyone but Ethan.

Because once Ethan saw this—

Once he saw the photographs.

The notes.

The years she’d spent watching him from a distance.

Everything would change.

He wouldn’t see love.

He wouldn’t see devotion.

He wouldn’t see someone who cared too much.

He would see obsession.

Something unhealthy.

Something frightening.

And once Ethan looked at her that way, there would be no fixing it.

No explaining it.

No second chance.

Felix headed toward the door.

Raina followed immediately.

Begging.

Pleading.

Trying to explain.

Trying to stop him.

Nothing worked.

His mind was made up.

And with every step he took toward the exit, her panic grew stronger.

Hotter.

More desperate.

Then her eyes landed on something sitting on a nearby shelf.

A snow globe.

The one Ethan had given her for Christmas.

The memory hit her instantly.

Ethan smiling as he handed it to her.

The ridiculous speech he’d made about how it reminded him of her.

The way she had treasured it ever since.

Everything after that happened too quickly.

Her hand closed around the glass sphere.

Felix reached the doorway.

She swung.

The impact echoed through the apartment.

A sickening crack filled the air.

For a split second neither of them seemed to understand what had happened.

The snow globe shattered against the side of Felix’s head.

Glass exploded across the doorway.

Water sprayed across the hardwood floor.

The photographs slipped from his hands and scattered everywhere.

Felix staggered forward.

For a moment he remained standing.

His expression looked almost confused.

As though his mind refused to process what had just occurred.

Slowly, he turned toward her.

Blood trickled down the side of his face.

"What..."

The word barely escaped his lips.

His hand rose shakily toward his temple.

When his fingers came away stained red, he simply stared at them.

Raina’s stomach dropped.

The shattered remains of the snow globe slipped from her grasp and hit the floor.

"I’m sorry."

The apology escaped her instantly.

Instinctively.

Desperately.

"I’m sorry."

Felix took another step.

Then another.

His eyes remained fixed on the blood coating his fingers.

"What did you..."

His knees buckled.

And then he fell.

The sound of his body striking the hardwood floor would stay with her for the rest of her life.

The apartment became silent.

Terrifyingly silent.

For several seconds Raina couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t breathe.

She simply stared.

Waiting for him to get up.

Waiting for him to yell.

To call her crazy.

To do anything.

But Felix didn’t move.

A dark stain began spreading beneath his head.

Slowly.

Then faster.

Far too fast.

Reality hit her all at once.

"No."

Her voice trembled.

"No..."

She rushed forward and dropped beside him.

"Felix?"

Nothing.

Her hands shook violently as she grabbed his shoulders.

"Felix."

No response.

The blood continued spreading across the floor.

Panic crashed into her.

Raw.

Overwhelming.

"Felix!"

Still nothing.

Her vision blurred.

Tears spilled freely down her face.

"No, no, no, no..."

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him.

She hadn’t meant—

A sob tore from her throat.

The room spun around her.

And as she knelt beside him, surrounded by shattered glass, scattered photographs, and the terrible realization of what she had done, one horrifying thought echoed through her mind.

Everything was over.

Or at least, that was what she believed.

Until she reached for her phone.

And called the only person she could think of.

Her grandfather...

( To be continued in the next Chapter).....