Lahat ng Kabanata ng Pieces of Me He Never Protected: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Diamond noticed everything.Every glance he gave another girl. Every message he typed and quickly deleted. Every laugh shared with his friends that didn’t include her. She noticed how his world moved, smooth, chaotic, like a river he had learned to navigate perfectly. And she wasn’t afraid. Not anymore.Instead, she was curious. Observant. Strategic.At lunch, she let him approach first, but she didn’t meet his eyes right away. She twirled her pen, scrolling her phone, pretending absorbed, but aware of his every movement. He smiled, leaned casually on the table, tried that same charm that had worked on countless girls before. The one that made them lean in, laugh, blush.She didn’t flinch.He raised an eyebrow, his confidence flickering just slightly. “Hey,” he said smoothly.“Hey,” she replied, voice light, eyes still on her screen.A pause.Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, let out a soft laugh, tapping a reply slowly, deliberately. He leaned in, intrigued, watching her carefully

Josh always looked calm.That was the first lie.From the outside, he was the guy everyone liked. Easy smile. Relaxed shoulders. The type that walked into a room and made people feel like nothing heavy could happen there. Even I believed that once. I believed peace lived inside him.But peace is not what people carry.They carry habits.They carry hunger.They carry secrets.That evening, I noticed it again.We were sitting outside the hostel, watching students pass like a moving river. Some laughed too loud. Some argued. Some walked hand in hand like love was simple. Josh leaned back on the bench beside me, phone loose in his palm, face calm.Too calm.His phone vibrated.He didn’t pick it up immediately.Instead, his thumb hovered.Like he was deciding which version of himself needed to answer.I watched him from the corner of my eyes.Not like before.Before, I watched him with love.Now, I watched him with understanding.He finally checked the screen, then locked it without replyi

Josh fell asleep before I did.He always did.One minute he was breathing beside me, slow and steady, and the next his chest was rising in that calm rhythm people only reach when their mind is empty.Mine wasn’t.The room was dark now. Only the small lamp by his desk still glowed, throwing weak shadows across the walls. His arm rested over my waist, heavy but familiar. Warm.Safe.But safety felt strange lately.I stared at the ceiling, counting the cracks like they might answer questions my heart kept whispering.After intimacy, love is supposed to feel full.Instead, mine felt thoughtful.Josh shifted beside me, pulling me closer in his sleep. His face softened, lashes resting against his cheek, mouth slightly open. In moments like this, he looked harmless. Like a boy who could never hurt anyone on purpose.Yet the same hands holding me now had held others.The thought crept in quietly.Not screaming.Just existing.I remembered the way he kissed me earlier. The way his voice droppe

The room smelled like rain and regret. My bag sat on the floor where I dropped it when I came in. Shoes kicked aside. Phone buzzing somewhere I refused to answer. The cheating scandal had already torn through my world, and now I was alone with the silence it left behind. Josh’s name still echoed in my head. Not his voice. His damage. I sat on my bed slowly, like my bones had forgotten how to trust movement. Everything around me felt heavier than usual. Even breathing required thought. Funny thing about betrayal. It doesn’t only hurt in the present. It rearranges your past too. I stared at the wall. And without asking permission, my mind walked backward. Not to the day I found the messages. Not to the girls. But further. To the first crack I ignored. Josh and I were sitting outside that evening. The sky had worn that soft orange colour before night swallowed it whole. He had been scrolling his phone, quiet in a distracted way, not peaceful. I was talking about something

Josh was careful.Too careful.That was what made the slip dangerous.It started on a regular afternoon. Nothing dramatic. No shouting. No rain. Just campus noise and people moving like life was normal.Josh sat on the steps outside the library with Diamond beside him. Her bag rested against her legs, his arm loosely around her shoulder. They looked like any other couple passing time.Diamond was talking.Josh was replying automatically.But his phone kept buzzing.Once.Twice.Three times.He didn’t check.That was already new.Normally, he never ignored attention.Diamond leaned into him. “You’re quiet today.”“Just tired,” he said.She studied his face.Josh forced a smile.Then his phone buzzed again.This time, a name flashed too close to Diamond’s sight.Kemi.Diamond’s eyes dropped without thinking.Just a second.Just enough.Josh felt it.He shifted quickly, turning the screen down.Too late.“What was that?” Diamond asked calmly.“Nothing,” he replied fast. “Class group.”Li