Novel & Cerita Betrayed At 17

He did not look at the phone, at the words—he only looked at me, and in that look there was less pity and more a promise. “What did he say?” I managed. “What did Ethan tell them?” Lucas’s jaw worked once. “He spun it. He called you reckless—said you were drunk. He made you the villain before the doctors had finished telling anyone what was real.” My stomach dropped out entirely. I had been a collection of murmurs and subheadings in the mouths of others; my grief turned into someone else’s plot point. Ethan’s voice—smooth, carefully modulated—rang in my head like a bell tolled for someone else.

Everyone left around 5pm, and she was left alone. Deep in thought, she was startled when her phone rang. She checked the screen and frowned cus she didn't recognize the number but picked it anyway. "Hello" and when a familiar deep husky voice answered she froze. It has been decades since they last spoke, and what was he about to tell her? Was he going to explain what he did? She didn't need any of his explanations cus he betrayed her. "Are you still on? Hello, Zainab." She hung up, though she desperately wanted to scold him, say all sorts of unthinkable words to him. But the other voice that wanted to scream at him, how much she love him, was stronger than the former.

I won't go down for what I didn't orchestrate. I lifted my chin, staring into the camera with all the sincerity I could fake. “I know you guys might not believe me, but I was betrayed,” I said. “He was someone close to me; he told me he had a deal for me, and I fell for it. He didn't disclose everything, but then it dawned on me that I was the bait.”

“Why do you hate betrayal?” His eyes locked into hers, unknown emotions flickering in them. He gulped. “I was six when my mom promised me to give me food after a week, locking me in the sewer. I walked with hope, but she sold me to a man for just twenty dollars. It was the first time I got betrayed. I killed every other person who tried to betray me in the worst way after that,” he confessed to her. “Little thing… try to never come to my bad side,” his voice came low and dark, filled with warning.

The only words that rang through my ears were Milandro’s. She betrayed you, Boss. She left. With that fucking bastard. I couldn’t believe my eyes, either. She was just playing with you this whole time. “No!” I gripped my hair in frustration, in denial. “Rebecca wasn’t lying!” It was a lie. Rebecca wouldn’t betray me. I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I was sixteen when I was raped. He raped me on my sixteen birthday, and he continued to do so every single night for seven years.

She looked at Vincent’s eyes and said, “I know you love me, but…I am sorry, the scare you left on my heart, I’ll never be able to trust anyone again, I am sorry.” She continued, “My whole life, I’ve been betrayed by those I loved, and finally, I have found my happiness with my son. My small world is full of joy, and there is no place for anyone else.” He just stared at her face. she held her son’s hand and walked toward Luca, lying on the floor.

I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end. "When I was twelve, a group of girls at school bullied me. I put laxatives in their lunch and made them humiliate themselves in front of the entire student body." "When I was sixteen, I found out my best friend betrayed me. She told my secrets to a rival family. I had her brought to an abandoned factory. And with my own hands, I cut out the tongue that spoke my family's secrets." "When I was twenty, to protect my family's interests, I personally executed three traitors. I didn't even blink."

It turned out that he had been betrayed from the start. ***

༒ ℜ𝔞𝔣𝔣𝔞𝔢𝔩𝔢༒ The mistake people made about betrayal was assuming it announced itself. It didn't. Betrayal was quiet. Patient. It sat beside you at meetings, shook your hand, shared drinks with you, then sold pieces of your life when you weren't looking. The truly dangerous traitors weren't the greedy ones. They were the convinced ones. The ones who believed they were doing the right thing.

Nadia trusted me, believed in me, and I betrayed her. I was feeding Max information, giving him everything he needed to destroy Richard and Tammie, and for what? Money? Power? Acceptance? I felt dirty, ashamed, disgusted with myself. I was playing a dangerous game, and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up. I buried my face in my hands, my body trembling as the tears finally came, hot and heavy, burning my cheeks as they fell. I was in too deep. I couldn’t get out. I couldn’t stop.