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Penulis: Hewrite
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-11 12:51:14

VIRAL INFECTION

{Playlist Suggestion: "Way Down We Go" by KALEO / "Blood in the Water" by grandson}

~KADE POV~

The sound of a reputation dying isn't a bang. It's a buzz.

It started in AP Euro. The room was quiet, Mr. Dante droning on about the Congress of Vienna, chalk scratching against the board. Then, a single phone vibrated against a desk. Then another. Then a soft ping that someone forgot to silence.

Within thirty seconds, the mood in the room shifted.

The boredom faded away, replaced by that electric, predatory energy that only exists in high school when a scandal drops. Heads bent. Screens lit up faces in the dim classroom. Eyes darted sideways....first at neighbors, then at me.

I sat in the back row, my bad leg stretched out under the desk, throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache. I tried to ignore it. I tried to focus on the map of 1815 Europe.

But then I saw Denver.

He was sitting two rows ahead. He looked at his phone, his shoulders went stiff, and he turned around. His brown
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  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    097

    THE WATCHER{Playlist Suggestion: "I'm Not The Only One" (Slowed) by Sam Smith / "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins}~KOLT POV~The rain had turned the city into a watercolor painting of gray and black, blurring the lines between the penthouses in the sky and the gutters below. My driver, Silas, navigated the potholes of the crumbling neighborhood with the silence of a man who knew better than to ask why a Kingston was visiting the slums at 3:00 AM."We're here, sir," Silas murmured, the car idling softly.I looked out the tinted window. The brick building was ugly, scarred by graffiti and neglect. It was a cage. A rotting box of drywall and cheap piping. And inside that cage was the only thing that made my blood run hot."Wait here," I ordered.I opened the door and stepped out into the drizzle. I didn't need an umbrella. I didn't care about the water ruining a three-thousand-dollar suit. I needed answers. I needed to see her face, to see if the damage from the photo was permanent,

  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    096

    SANCTUARY{Playlist Suggestion: "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey / "Yellow" by Coldplay}~KADE POV~I didn't go back to class. I didn't go to the nurse for my knee, even though it was throbbing with a dull, sickening beat that matched my heartbeat. I got in my car and drove until the manicured lawns of Crawford Elite were just a blur in my rearview mirror.The scout had told me to fix my mess.He was wrong. Chelsea wasn't a mess. She was the only thing in my life that made sense, and I had left her alone to face the firing squad while I felt sorry for myself in a locker room.When I reached her apartment building, the engine cut out, leaving a ringing silence in my ears. I climbed the stairs slowly, gripping the railing, dragging my left leg. Every step was a reminder of what I'd lost today…..the captaincy, the trust of the team. But none of that mattered if I lost her.I didn't knock. I knew Chase was usually home, so I prayed he'd be the one to open it.He did. He looked at my bruised

  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    095

    THE SUMMONS{Playlist Suggestion: "Gangsta" by Kehlani / "No Time To Die" by Billie Eilish}~KOLT POV~In my line of work, silence is the most expensive commodity on the market.People didn't pay five hundred dollars for a bottle of vodka at The Mirage because it tasted better. They paid for the privilege of drinking it in the dark, where their wives, their shareholders, and the IRS couldn't see them.My business was built on shadows.And someone had just turned on a floodlight.I sat in my office, the air conditioner humming a low, artificial note. My phone lay flat on the mahogany desk. On the screen was a screenshot Antonio had just forwarded to me.It was from a high school gossip page. ‘Crawford Confessions.’The image was grainy, but the subjects were undeniable. Me, standing in the staff doorway. Chelsea, shivering under my jacket."VIP service, anyone?"I didn't feel anger. Anger was a hot, messy emotion…..a Kade emotion. What I felt was a cold, crystallizing clarity.This was

  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    094

    VICTORY LAP{Playlist Suggestion: "Material Girl" by Madonna / "bad guy" by Billie Eilish}~VALERIE POV~Fifteen hundred likes in forty minutes.I refreshed the page.1,550.I took a sip of my iced matcha latte, feeling the caffeine and the dopamine hit my bloodstream at the same time. It was a heady mix. Better than champagne. Better than sex.It was power.I walked through the Senior Courtyard, my heels clicking on the stone pavers. Usually, this place was a noise of chatter…weekend plans, homework complaints, hookup gossip.Today, it was buzzing with a singular frequency. Every head was bent. Every screen was lit up. And every whisper was about her."Did you see the jacket?""Kolt Kingston. Can you imagine?""Trash always finds the gutter eventually."I kept my face impassive, a mask of cool, separated interest, but inside, I was cheering.I had done it. I had popped the blister.Kade was free. He might be angry now, he might be humiliated, but eventually, he would see this for wha

  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    093

    WALK OF SHAME{Playlist Suggestion: "Liability" by Lorde / "Soap" by Melanie Martinez}~CHELSEA POV~For the first time in three years, I wasn't doing mental math in the checkout line.Usually, standing in the aisle of Market Fresh was a humiliating exercise in subtraction. If I put the milk back, can I afford the eggs? If I skip the detergent, can I buy the good bread for Chase?Today, I had $400 in cash in my wallet.I had a basket full of things that felt like unimaginable luxuries. Raspberries. A steak. Brand-name cereal. A bottle of vitamins that wasn't the generic store brand.I placed the items on the conveyor belt, feeling a strange, hollow sense of victory. I had done it. I had sold my soul to Kolt Kingston, and in exchange, my brother was going to eat like a king tonight.The cashier, a middle-aged woman named Brenda who had watched me count pennies for years, smiled tiredly. "Big haul today, honey. You win a scratch-off?""Something like that," I murmured, watching the tota

  • His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea    092

    VIRAL INFECTION{Playlist Suggestion: "Way Down We Go" by KALEO / "Blood in the Water" by grandson}~KADE POV~The sound of a reputation dying isn't a bang. It's a buzz.It started in AP Euro. The room was quiet, Mr. Dante droning on about the Congress of Vienna, chalk scratching against the board. Then, a single phone vibrated against a desk. Then another. Then a soft ping that someone forgot to silence.Within thirty seconds, the mood in the room shifted.The boredom faded away, replaced by that electric, predatory energy that only exists in high school when a scandal drops. Heads bent. Screens lit up faces in the dim classroom. Eyes darted sideways....first at neighbors, then at me.I sat in the back row, my bad leg stretched out under the desk, throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache. I tried to ignore it. I tried to focus on the map of 1815 Europe.But then I saw Denver.He was sitting two rows ahead. He looked at his phone, his shoulders went stiff, and he turned around. His brown

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