Chapter 2: The gold mine

Daniel followed the man’s gaze and he saw her standing behind the wall. His expression changed briefly, but rather than looking surprised or concerned, he simply sighed.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Nami’s heart skipped at the reply.

The man looked her over, then laughed.

“Well, I’ll be damned. You weren’t exaggerating. She really does look like the type who would believe anything you told her.”

Chloe burst into laughter. “Believe anything? You have no idea. This woman would believe Daniel if he told her the sky was falling.”

Nami frowned at their words and slowly stepped out from behind the wall, limping a little.

Her gaze moved from Daniel to Chloe, then to the armed men surrounding them, hoping that whatever was in her mind wasn't true.

“What…” she breathed out, looking at Daniel with watery eyes. “What's going on here?”

The leader shook his head. “Well, well. Looks like she heard us.”

Daniel rubbed his forehead, visibly annoyed. “How long have you been standing there, Nami? Don't you know it's a bad habit to eavesdrop on people?”

Nami’s eyes were fixed on him in disbelief. “Wh… Daniel, please tell me this isn't what I'm thinking? Daniel…

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re going to start crying.”

Nami looked at her in disbelief. “Chloe, you… you are… also….what’s going on?”

Chloe laughed again. “You’re still asking questions? Honestly, Nami, you really are as slow as Daniel says.”

“Stop it, Chloe,” Daniel muttered.

But there was no concern in his voice. He sounded annoyed that the conversation was taking too long.

The hostile leader chuckled. “What’s the matter? Afraid she’ll finally understand how you’ve both been playing her?”

Nami’s face went pale. “What?”

Then she finally noticed it. Chloe and Daniel exchanged a brief glance and it felt intimate.

Then Chloe moved closer to Daniel and slipped her arm through his with a pleased smile on her face.

Nami stared at their joined arms. “What…” she was speechless.

Chloe leaned against him. “What’s it look like?”

“Chloe…”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Daniel is my boyfriend. He has been for a long time, before both of you even met..”

The words seemed to knock the air out of Nami’s lungs.

“No…” she stumbled back, her body trembling.

Chloe smiled, loving her reaction. “Yes, sweetheart. While you were busy playing the devoted girlfriend, we were together.”

Nami shook her head, feeling her heart breaking. “That’s not true.”

Daniel looked annoyed as he looked at her. “Why are you making such a scene? It’s over. Just accept it.”

Nami lowered her gaze as she forced herself to come to terms with the situation. “So… you've been together a long time before we met, Daniel?”

Chloe glanced at Daniel, then smiled and nodded. “Pretty much.”

Nami felt sick.

She remembered it was Chloe who introduced them. She also remembered the times Chloe had encouraged her to forgive Daniel after their arguments. The times she had told her to be patient when he needed money. The nights they had spent talking about relationships, with Chloe always assuring her that Daniel loved her.

It was all a lie. They had been fooling her.

“You were my best friend,” Nami said, her voice trembling.

“And you were a very convenient friend,” Chloe replied. “Do you know how many times Daniel and I laughed about you? Every time you sent him money, every time you emptied your savings because he suddenly had another problem, every time you believed one of his ridiculous excuses.”

Nami stared at her. “What money?”

Chloe gave her an incredulous look and scoffed. “All of it, Nami. The money you kept sending him.”

Daniel looked impatient. “Chloe, enough.”

“No, let her hear it,” Chloe snapped. “She’s spent years making our lives comfortable. I think she deserves to know how much we appreciated it.”

Chloe turned back to Nami.

“Those emergencies he kept telling you about? Most of them were made up. The investment that was supposedly going to make him rich? There was no investment. The money he needed to settle his debts? Half the time, he didn’t owe anyone anything.”

Nami’s lips parted. “You’re lying…”

“Am I?” Chloe smiled cruelly. “Do you remember that expensive handbag I bought months ago before this all started? The one I told you I saved up for?”

Nami didn’t respond; she just stared, her stomach twisting where she stood.

“Daniel bought it for me. With your money. And the clothes? The jewellery? Those expensive beauty treatments? You practically paid for all of them.”

Nami looked at Daniel, desperate for him to deny it, but he merely shrugged like it was nothing. “You had the money, and you were willing to give it to me. What exactly is the problem here?”

“The prob…?” Nami let out a weak chuckle.

“Yes,” Daniel replied with a sneer. “So don't look at me like I robbed you. You handed it over willingly.”

He said it so casually that Nami felt her knees weaken.

The leader laughed. “Daniel, I have to give you credit. You found yourself a real gold mine.”

“She wasn’t exactly difficult to handle,” Daniel replied. “All I had to do was tell her I was in trouble, and she’d rush to help. Sometimes I didn’t even have to ask twice.”

Chloe giggled. “She was practically a cash cow. We just had to keep her believing she was loved.”

Nami’s eyes filled with tears as they spoke about her like she was never a part of their lives.

She looked at the two people standing in front of her. Daniel, the man she had loved and sacrificed for. Chloe, the woman she had trusted with her secrets and considered family.

They were laughing about her.

“Why?” she whispered, tears falling. “Why would you do this to me?”

Daniel’s expression hardened. “Because you were useful. That’s all. But now?” he scoffed, his expression hateful. “This apocalypse changed everything. You changed. Everyone here respected you, looked up to you, depended on you. They all listened to you, praising you.”

Chloe nodded in agreement. “It felt like suddenly we were beneath you, and we hated you for that. We couldn’t stand watching everyone treat you like you were better than us. We didn’t want you around anymore.”

Nami shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Is that why you did all this? You gave us up to them?”

Daniel chuckled malevolently. “Why not? Your influence kept growing, and we couldn’t stand it anymore. We had to bring you down to where you belong.”

Nami’s lips trembled at words. “What the hell, Daniel?! Do you have any idea what you've done?! You helped them kill those people!”

“I helped myself!” he snapped coldly. “The fact that other people got caught in the middle isn’t my concern. Why should it concern me?”

“But those people did nothing to you!”

“And they did nothing for me either.”

He stepped towards her, his patience clearly running out.

“Listen carefully, Nami. You need to stop acting like any of this matters. The settlement is finished. We got what we wanted, and we’re leaving. That’s all you need to understand.”

Nami stared at him, clutching her chest as she was finding it hard to breathe.

“And don't think about following us,” Chloe said. “We have no use for you anymore, Nami. You served your purpose.”

Nami remained standing as they both turned and began walking away.

Suddenly, she heard a distant sound of the infected and realized that they must have been attracted by the chaos.

Her heart lurched and she quickly shouted in horror. “Daniel, wait!”

She tried to follow, but her injured leg nearly gave out. “Please! You can’t leave me here! They're coming!”

They ignored her as they kept walking.

Nami tried her best to keep up and when she finally caught up to them outdoors, she screamed, “Daniel! Please, don't leave me here!”

Daniel suddenly turned, pointing at her angrily. “Someone, get her out of my way!”

A gunshot rang out.

Nami gasped as she felt something strike her chest, not once, but twice, and she fell hard to the ground.

Her vision blurred as she watched them turn and walked away.

A burning hatred filled her chest as she remained there, bleeding and dying.

‘If I could… have another chance, if I just could…’

She couldn't finish her thoughts as the darkness swallowed her.