The betrayal

Chapter 1.

Maya's POV.

I sighed in exhaustion as I grabbed the packs of granola and protein bars I had bought for my hockey boyfriend, Nathan, ahead of his evening training.

Spending hours juggling between my studies and two jobs to treat a sick mother was a hard nut to crack.

However, this had been my personal routine for him ever since he was a junior player in a lower division.

But today, as I slithered into the Dogfang boys' locker room, my heart stopped.

A breathless moan spilled out, raw and loud, and I was slammed in the face by the devastating scene of my boyfriend, Nathan, deeply buried inside of my best friend, Kierra, on the other side of the wall.

My eyes widened as heat crawled up my body. My heart stuttered, and my jaw stiffened tightly.

Kierra's fingers dug into his damp skin as her full jet-black hair fell over him, covering half of her face, while one of his hands choked her neck to the wall, the other slung around her waist as he filled her, and she moaned and screamed aloud in a way that made my legs buckle beneath me.

“Nathan!” My throat finally tore with a searing pain that rippled through my spine, and the packages in my hands fell off, pulling their attention.

Shock and guilt flickered in their eyes for a moment before being replaced by mischief and malice, and the stench of sweat and fluids filled the air, a reminder of the betrayal that clung to me like a second skin.

"You and my best friend?" I clenched my fists at both sides, my chest heaving up and down.

I could still see the glimmer of lust in their eyes as silence stretched between us, suffocating me.

"Um, Maya," Nathan's hand swept past his messy hair, stammering. "It's not entirely my fault. You were not available."

He did it again, always tabling stupid reasons for cheating on me. Always making me feel guilty for his recklessness and betrayal.

"Enough!" I cut in, tears filling my eyes. "Aren't you tired of giving lame excuses for cheating all the time?"

Nathan pulled his jersey over his shoulders casually, not minding the pain in my voice. He was probably used to me screaming at his filth every fucking time.

"What did you expect me to do, Maya? You are miles away, busy with your mum's medical treatment while I am drowning here in team pressure." He shrugged his shoulders, lacing his shoes. "I mean, Kierra was just helping."

Kierra stepped out from behind him, her hair and makeup askew. "Maya, I wasn't expecting you to get upset because honestly? You pushed him away by not putting him first, and someone better have to keep the Dogfang captain's body warm. You should be glad I helped."

Her words made my chest tighten. "That's so shameful of you, Kierra. You are my fucking best friend, and you even have the guts to justify this?"

"What do you expect, Maya? Nathan chooses whom to drag into his bed. Beat it! You better accept the hellish fact that Nathan can never be yours, else you will keep buying some bars of protein and granola to cage him, and at the end your effort goes down the drain."

I bit my lower lip, suppressing the urge to knock the smirk off her face.

"Maya, we can talk this through. You will forgive me, won't you?" The subtle smirk on his face made my skin cold.

He now saw me as a desperate girlfriend whom he could cheat on anytime because he knew I would forgive him?

Nathan and I have been dating since high school. I had always been by his side to motivate him when he didn't have a title to his name, and when he was transferred to Wartburg College, I tossed my dream school aside and used my scholarship slot there so we could chase our dream together. 

Nathan was my sweet boyfriend. The only person who never got tired of comforting me ever since my mother was diagnosed with kidney disease and ovarian cancer.

But all these stopped the moment he was appointed as the captain of the Dogfang team. He began to bring different girls into his bed now and then, blowing me off.

The first time he cheated, he went on his knees and apologised, tabling a reason, and I forgave. Second. Third, Fourth. And so many fucking times that I was sick and tired of his lame reasons.

"I can't, Nathan. Not anymore." I pushed back the tears threatening to fall.

"Maya, It's just a silly decision. I... I promise it won't......" Nathan stammered, his hand sliding past his hair.

I started walking out of the locker room, then Kierra dropped the bomb that shattered the little strength left in me.

"Nathan has always wanted me right from the first day he saw me. Wondered why he keeps cheating on you? Because you are not enough, not what he wanted. This is the best time to leave for good, Maya."

I looked over my shoulder and met Nathan's blank face, allowing the suffocating silence to affirm every single word Kierra had said.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I was not what he wanted, which was fine. Maybe I was being stupidly delusional.

I stepped out of the thick air in the locker room, and tears spilled down my face.

__

I got back to my dorm with a heavy heart and my eyes bruised at the edges with tears.

Elena, my roommate, was standing at the front of the mirror on her strappy heels, smearing lip gloss on her lips. Her corset top and leather skirt that slit past her thigh made her look like trouble in good posture.

"You look so awful, like you just crawled out of hell. He cheated again?"

I took in a sharp, piercing breath, smoothing the bodice of my sequin wine dress with trembling hands, the overwhelming silence speaking louder than a voice.

"This time with my best friend." The dam of tears I had been holding let out again, hands clutching the bedsheet tightly.

Her lipstick stopped halfway, and she sat close to me, squeezing my hands in comfort.

"You will be fine, girl. You guys always do these things. He cheats, begs, you forgive and repeat. "

"Not this time, Elena. He crossed the line sleeping with that bastard slut."

"Enough of this rollercoaster cheating and gaslighting from that boy. Girl, you juggle around two jobs to pay for your mother's medical bills, you have to focus on your books, and you need sanity and peace."

Elena's voice was laced with frustration and exhaustion as she walked up to her wardrobe, shuffling dresses and tossing them at me.

"What...." Before I talked, a faux leather skirt smacked my face again. "What are you doing?"

"Party time. Let's go crash it!"

"Morning lecture tomorrow—" Thigh-high stockings hit my mouth.

"I can't let you stay here alone and disintegrate all night. I wouldn't be here to help."

"Hotter hockey boys would come tonight. Who knows if you find any of them charming."

Though Elena had a heart of gold, she also had a head of rock. She wouldn't stop at anything to force me to the party.

____

The party floor was already too loud by 10 PM. Music blasted through the ambiance, red cups everywhere, and the smell of cheap perfumes and spilled vodkas charged the air.

I tucked by the corner with a cup of vodka in my hand while I laughed at Elena's dance with a stranger ---her elbow was out, one arm rotating like she was watering a lawn, obviously drunk.

And then the door opened, pulling my attention to six hot boys walking into the party as though they owned it.

Girls whispered. The boys straightened up. Everyone's gaze locked onto them.

They all had similar features. Tall. Broad-shouldered, handsome, and had badboy vibes.

But there was this particular boy with piercing brown eyes, kissable lips, and a perfectly sculpted jawline. He was the finest of the group and obviously the Alpha of the group with the kind of poised aura he managed.

If Elena had ever told me one truth about the party, it would be her awareness of extremely handsome boys roaming the party.

I finally broke gaze with him and turned back to the position where Elena and the stranger were dancing, ng only to find it replaced by two girls chatting.

I furrowed my brows, looking around for her figure in the crowd. But she wasn't there. Probably, might have dragged the poor boy into her bed for tonight.

Just then, I caught the shadow of a figure stopping in front of my table and sitting directly opposite me. I turned my face to the front, and in front of me was the most handsome boy I had ever set my eyes on in my entire life, flashing those cute smiles that were already making my body tingle in the way I didn't want.

"What's the queen of the Dogfang team doing all alone here?"

I froze. He knew me?

"I am not anymore." I looked down and away, hiding the pain in my face.

"What happened?" He asked with a tone of urgency that tempted me to look into his beautiful eyes again, and I got lost in them for a few seconds.

"He cheated," I said in a single tone, sipping from the cup of vodka to calm the weight of the word in the bottom of my diaphragm.

He tipped the corner of his lips. "That's ridiculous. Sorry about that."

His eyes were dangerously electrifying, charging the air between us as I looked into them. This boy was so damn beautiful.

"Do you own this place?" I changed the topic, and he cringed, laughing.

"What? Nah! I am also a student like you and these guys?" He turned his face to the other five guys who were now flirting with girls. "Are my teammates."

The realization pressed on me. "Oh, you play hockey?"

He snubbed the question, standing up, reaching out for my hands without permission and pulling me onto the dancing floor.

"You look entirely too sober for a room full of people having the fun of their lives. You should dance."

I wanted to twist my arm out of his grasp, but then the cheers from the people and the shutter sounds of cameras as he swayed his waist and flung my arms to the rhythm of the song tuned me in.

He seemed so popular and recognised as hails began to pour on us. Well, I took that as normal party vibes.

I laughed and started dancing alongside him. Our eyes locked as we scrutinized each other, our faces dangerously close and my breathing pattern fastened.

The whole party seemed to stop to watch us. Time stood still, and the world spun around us. But I didn't care anymore. I didn't know if it was the alcohol or the pain of betrayal that still pressed heavily on me.

If Nathan could pull different girls onto his bed every fucking time, sleep with my best friend, I didn't see anything wrong with dancing with the most handsome boy I have ever seen, or maybe even... tempted to kiss him.

Holy shit! I was going insane!

His lips scanned mine and our eyes locked intensely as I began to bring my lips closer to his lips; whispers and cheers from the onlookers blared in anticipation, charging the moment.

But just as our lips were about to crash, I caught a familiar team logo on his crest, and the name of the person boldly written on his nameplate was the wrong Captain to be around.