Chapter 2 : The Betrayal.

The moment the door swung open, Hazel's world shattered. She stood frozen, speechless and lost. 

Right there on the bed, was Eric, and with him was Sophia, with both of them entangled. Their bodies were pressed together, lips locked, completely lost in each other to even notice an additional presence. 

For what felt like eternity, Hazel couldn't move, she couldn't even think. Her breathing had already hitched. Before she knew it, the cake slipped from her hands, and landed on the ground, all her effort wasted. 

Eric and Sophia immediately pulled apart on hearing the sound. Their eyes instantly snapped to the door, and their gaze held hers. 

"Hazel...?" Eric muttered, stunned to see her standing there. Hazel couldn't even speak properly again, as her lips trembled. Her vision soon got blurry, and she knew it was just a matter of minutes, before she blanks out. 

"You.." she tried to form a word, but her voice was still breaking and unsteady. 

"You're...with her?" 

Her gaze shifted, and landed on Sophia, her step sister. If there are people she trusted so much, it is Lyra, her best friend, Eric and Sophia. She had never for ones suspected Sophia of sneaking around to see her man. She had loved her sister, with everything in her, but this was the best way she chose to thank her. 

And the worse of all, Sophia didn't even look guilty at all. Not even a little bit. Instead, she was all smiles like someone who just won a medal.

"Well," she started casually, brushing her hair off her back. "Happy birthday, dear sister."

Hazel's heart dropped. Of all the gifts she expected, this was never one of them. 

"What...?" 

"Are you surprised?" Sophia asked, the annoying smile still on her face. Hazel staggered backward, wondering if she was dreaming. Her chest became very painful, threatening to burst. Eric frowned from where he was, now irritated at her sight. 

"Why exactly are you here?" He snapped. Hazel blinked in disbelief, wondering if it was her Eric or another one. "Did you just ask me why I am here?" She repeated weakly. 

"I should be asking you that question for crying out loud!" 

She stood speechless, as tears rolled down her cheeks freely. 

"You're cheating on me...and of all people...with Sophia?" Eric scoffed like she was just bluffing. 

"As if you're not aware of that already," he replied coldly. Hazel's eyes widened, everything playing out still shocking. 

"I...I didn't..."

"Well, at least, now you do," Sophia cut in smoothly, not allowing her to finish. She crossed her arms, now relaxed, and completely unbothered. 

"You should take this as your birthday gift."

Hazel had never imagined that such a day would come in her life. This wasn't what she had planned for herself. Eric stood up, and with the look on his face, he was completely unapologetically of what he did. 

"You heard her loud and clear," he said. 

"You're obviously of no use to me again. You're era of usefulness has passed."

"No...no, Eric. This isn't the promise we made to each other. You don't mean of this things you said..."

But that was crying over spilled milk, because he meant everything. 

"I've already gotten everything I ever needed from you," he continued. 

"From money, your support and your time." He smirked, claiming to have played her. 

"You shouldn't live in the past, because the one I actually love is... Sophia."

The words hit her like bullets, and that instant, Hazel's knees weakened beyond her control. Even her heart continued to pound, everything about her going in the opposite direction. 

"This has to be...some sort of joke..." She whispered to herself. 

"It has to be a dream that I would wake up from.."

Her voice rose suddenly, frightening even her. "This is a dream!" 

"Stop screaming your lungs out!" Sophia snapped, clearly annoyed. 

Even Eric couldn't stand the sight of her anymore. 

"Get out of this place immediately!" He ordered coldly. Hazel took a quick glance at him, broken that a day would come that Eric will only see her as a disturbance. Lyra warned her to stay away, but she refused to listen. 

"After everything I sacrificed for you... always putting you first..." She whispered, unable to recognize her own voice. 

Sophia laughed softly, mocking her for everything. 

"No one ever forced you to do everything you did. It was a voluntary act." She replied her. 

"You gave everything willingly." Eric nodded in support. 

"You look so pathetic acting like a victim here." 

Hazel's fingers curled into a fist, and it was only one thing that kept her from forgetting a few punches of his face. Her whole body shook, her knees wobbling weakly. 

"You're both a disgusting piece of shit..." She cried, wishing she never crossed paths with Eric. 

This unleashed the beast inside Eric, as the next second, he had rushed to her side, and landed a slap in her face. The sound echoed the whole place, as Hazel's cheek burned. 

"If you don't pick your remains out of this place," he contract, his voice rising dangerously. 

"I will do you the honors of throwing you out myself."

Hazel couldn't believe her eyes. Her cheek was still burning hot from the slap she received. This definitely wasn't the man she had loved with everything in her. Not anything close to the man she had spent four years of her life loving. And of course, can't be the man she gave everything she ever labored for. Tears began streaming endlessly down her face. She didn't even know when a dry laugh escaped her lips. 

"I was a complete fool...full time fool..."

She turned slowly, and then, she walked out. The rain hadn't stopped, ad it poured heavily outside, as it soaked her the moment she stepped out. She didn't know where she was going, had no idea what would become of her after that. She just moved, as her mind replayed everything that happened. 

Every lie, every deceit, every moment they ever spent together. 

"So, it was all fake..."she whispered to herself. 

"I will come back, and will definitely make them pay!" She promised herself, broken and shattered. 

The road ahead was now blurry, her vision failing her, as she swam in her tears. Her body was present there, but her mind was far off. She didn't hear or see anything coming. It was bright headlights, that flashed in her direction. It happened too fast, too close, and the next thing, her body was thrown like paper into the air, until she landed on the wet ground. 

She was fast losing blood, her visions not clear anymore. Then, the car door opened, and a pat if shiny black shoes stopped right in front of her. Hazel struggled to stay conscious. 

Who again did this to her?

With the last energy in her, she lifted her head, a d standing before her was a cold unbothered calm man. She has never meant him. That was Alexander Bale. 

And from the way he stared at her, it wasn't the look of someone who made a mistake!