2||He Never Loved Her

“Elias, Please pick up my call! I’m on my way to your house. S-something bad is happening. I’ll explain everything when I get there,” I said hurriedly before ending the call. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as I drove to my mate’s house, my heart pounding relentlessly against my chest.

No matter how much I begged, my father wouldn’t listen. He was resolute in his decision, leaving me with no other choice. The only people I could think of for help were Elias, my mate and best friend, and Marielle, but neither of them were answering their phones.

“I just have to meet Elias and he will fix everything. He’ll come up with a way to stop this,” I muttered under my breath, desperately trying to convince myself that what I was saying was true.

Minutes later, I parked in Elias’s driveway and walked to his house. Taking the spare key he had given me, I unlocked the door, but I immediately froze in my tracks as my eyes landed on the discarded clothes scattered across the floor.

What stopped me wasn’t just Elias’s scattered clothes but the unmistakable sight of a woman’s clothing and the striking red heels that caught my attention at first glance.

I felt my heart stop, and I staggered back, my steps unstable as I shakily glanced toward the bedroom before I could stop myself.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to force myself not to move toward the bedroom because I knew that if I did, I would see something I didn’t want to. But before my brain could comprehend what I was doing, my legs had already found their way to his bedroom.

Breathless moans, jagged gasps, and the sickening slap of skin against skin reached me first, even before my hand touched the doorknob.

My body was locked in place, my eyes fixed on the bedroom door. For a moment, my mind went blank, unable to think, unable to move, unable to breathe. I just stood there, wide-eyed trying not to puke.

I started crying. Hot, heavy tears slipped from my eyes so fast, I couldn’t see. Something seemed to choke my throat, and the room spun around me as dizziness overwhelmed my senses. I squeezed my eyes shut, gasping for air as my lungs fought for the release it desperately needed.

It couldn’t be true. The sounds coming from Elias’s room couldn’t possibly be sounds of pleasure. Maybe when I opened my eyes again, I’d wake up from this nightmare.

As I stood there in front of the bedroom door, my hand gripping the doorknob so tightly my knuckles turned white, I just wished it wasn’t real.

“It isn't real, it isn't real,” I whispered to myself, forcing my eyes open as I took a shaky breath and twisted the doorknob. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to turn back, that I wasn’t ready for what lay behind that door, but I ignored it, pushing the door open.

It was real. This wasn’t a nightmare.

My mate was tangled under the sheets with another woman, moving in and out of her as if she were the one he truly desired. Once again, I forgot I was supposed to be breathing as I watched the scene unfold, neither of them noticing my presence in the room.

“Shit, you feel so good, so tight! I'm so close, baby, take it all!” My mate grunted heavily as he held the woman beneath him, moving with an urgency, a passion he had never shown me.

“Oh my God, Elias. Yes, yes!” The woman screamed, her voice dripping with pleasure.

I bit my bottom lip and gripped my chest in pain—the kind of pain that wasn’t physical. It was deeper, something that shattered me from within as I watched the same man who whispered sweet nothings to me at night, who promised to give me the world, now lost in another woman's arms.

I wanted to speak—scream, demand an explanation for what I was seeing but the words were stuck in my throat. I could do nothing but stand there, frozen, and watch.

“Marielle! I’m so close, baby, I’m so close!” Elias moaned, his pace quickening. I sucked in a shaky breath, my eyes widening at the name that slipped out his mouth.

Marielle? My best friend. That couldn’t possibly be true.

"Yes! Cum inside me, Elias. I want it all!"

I gasped, covering my mouth in shock as the realization hit me like a truck. It was really Marielle. My mate and my best friend were having sex right in front of me.

It felt like a slap to the face as reality came crashing down. My mind replayed everything, the signs, the late-night "business meetings," and even the red lipstick stain I had chosen to ignore.”

God. Oh, God. How could I have missed it?

My vision narrowed, darkening with every heartbeat until there was nothing left but rage. Pure blinding rage. I felt it in my teeth, in my bones, flooding every inch of me. My hands trembled as I stared down at them… and then a sound tore free from my throat.

It was a laugh. A sharp cutting laugh, so loud it cracked my soul. I started clapping and laughing, shaking my head through the tears. God, I was such a fool. It was right in front of my face wasn’t it. The actual truth.

The sound of my laughter and applause seemed to finally alert them to my presence. Their heads snapped toward me, and I saw the shock on their faces, especially Elias, who looked like he’d seen a ghost as he scrambled away from Marielle. I watched as she let out a soft moan when he pulled out of her.

“B–baby, this isn’t what it looks like,” Elias stammered, his voice shaky as he panted and fumbled to grab something to cover himself. Meanwhile, Marielle didn’t even bother. She just laid there, her head tilted back as she closed her eyes, like she couldn’t stand the sight of me.

Different emotions surged through me in that moment—shock, disgust, and above all, anger. Pure, unrestrained anger.

“Bravo, Elias, bravo. What an excellent performance,” I said with a bitter smile, my glare piercing through him. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time. I really had no idea.”

“Daliha—” Elias stammered, his face flushing with embarrassment as his eyes darted everywhere but to mine. His mouth opened, as if he were struggling to find the right words. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally managed to speak. “This isn’t what—”

“Oh? It isn’t what it looks like?” I cut him off, my voice sharp. “Then tell me, Elias, what does it look like? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re screwing my friend!”

“I—it was a mistake, I promise. This was the first time—I didn’t know what came over me. Please, Daliha” Elias begged, his voice shaky as he tried to plead with me.

Marielle scoffed, finally lifting her head to meet my gaze. She didn’t even bother to cover herself, her smirk widening as she tilted her head slightly to the side. My eyes couldn't help but drift to the marks Elias had left on her skin which she showed off like a trophy.

This trifling bitch.

“Why are you being so dramatic? Are you even surprised? Don’t tell me you actually believed a man as good-looking as Elias would stay faithful to someone like you,” Marielle sneered.

“What?” I whispered, baffled. I hadn’t expected this from Marielle, she had been my best friend, my only friend. To cheat with my mate and then have the audacity to say such things left me momentarily speechless.

"You’re such a fool, Dahlia," she taunted. "Look at you—you're not even Elias’s type. Do you really believe that if it weren’t for the fact that you're his mate, he'd even look at you?"

I blinked, trying to process her words, all of them at once.

“W-what do you mean?”

“Marielle, shut your mouth right now!” Elias snapped, his tone harsh as he turned to her, but Marielle simply rolled her eyes and carried on.

“Why are we still keeping this a secret? She needs to know already. I feel bad that she’s been left in the dark for so long. You’ve never loved her! Let’s just end this sneaking around and tell her. You promised me you would reject Dahlia and marry me, Elias!” Marielle said firmly.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and my throat turned dry as I heard her words. Elias never loved me? The man I had known for seven years would reject me for my best friend?

“Y-you are lying,” I shook my head in denial, glaring at Marielle. “You’re telling lies. Elias loves me, and he would never reject me to marry you.”

Marielle scoffed, her lips curling into a sneer at my words. “Are you delusional? He cheated on you, and yet you still believe he loves you?”

She was right, but what hurt more than being cheated on was finding out that the years I’d spent with someone were all fake, that everything had been a lie from the very beginning.

I sniffed and wiped my tears, then turned to Elias, waiting for him to disagree, to tell me she was lying, that whatever she was saying wasn’t true. But he didn’t respond.

He didn't need to. His silence was answer enough.

Elias never loved me.