Whispers in the Dark [LingOrm]

"Is it casual now?"

Orm's pov

I wasn't lying when I said I loved her, so how could she just ignore me? How could she leave me like that? Hadn't I proven my love enough? Didn't she love me as well? Or were her actions just a consequence of the alcohol? These questions swirled in my mind, refusing to let me focus on anything else. My thoughts were a storm, relentless and suffocating. I couldn't concentrate on work; I had to find out what happened.

I abruptly left my office, my steps fueled by a mix of desperation and anger, and headed straight to Ling's office.

"I need to speak with Mrs. Kwong," I said to her assistant, barely keeping the impatience out of my voice.

"One moment, let me check if she's available," the assistant replied, glancing at her computer. After a few seconds, she nodded. "You're free to go in."

I barely acknowledged her thanks, storming to Ling's office and pushing the door open without knocking. The abruptness of my entrance startled her, and she turned quickly, her eyes wide.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath when she saw me.

"'Shit'? Is that all you have to say?" I shot back bitterly. "What about a 'sorry for leaving you at 3 AM'? Or at least an explanation?"

She hesitated, her face hardening as she asked, "An explanation about what?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Ling? Or have you drunk so much that your brain melted? You know what we did, and you know why I'm here. I'm asking you why you left."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, her tone icy.

"Really?" I challenged, stepping closer until I was right in front of her. I reached out and pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing the hickey I'd left near her collarbone. "Now, explain this."

She flinched slightly, her eyes betraying a flicker of something—guilt, perhaps?—before she masked it with indifference. "I already told you, maybe we don't know what love is. What if what we did wasn't love?"

I felt my heart clench painfully in my chest. "If it wasn't love, then what was it?"

"Just... something casual," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Casual?" The word burned like acid in my mouth. "Oh so is it casual now?" I said my voice filled with sarcasm

Her shocked expression was the only answer I needed. Rage and hurt twisted inside me, and without another word, I turned and stormed out of her office, leaving her standing there in stunned silence. I wanted to scream, to break something, to... I don't know. I wanted to erase the last 24 hours from my mind.

.....

I barely made it home before the tears started to fall. The second the door closed behind me, I sank to the floor, the sobs wracking my body. How could she? How could she just brush aside everything we shared like it was nothing?

How could she just act like our moments,her actions and our feelings was just something casual,like you do to everyone,everyday

 knock,knock.

I didn't move, didn't respond. I couldn't. But then I heard View's familiar voice call out, "Hey, don't care about her."

She walked into the house, saw me crumpled on the floor, and hurried over to me. I threw myself into her arms, the sobs spilling out uncontrollably. "How could she?" I choked out between tears. "I told her I loved her! And she just said we were like, casual or something, like she just wanted to use me, and when she got what she wanted, she left."

"Hey, come here," View soothed, guiding me to the couch. "Forget her, Orm. Maybe she just wanted to play with you. She doesn't deserve your tears."

We sat on the couch, View's arm around my shoulders as she tried to calm me down. Her presence was comforting, but the hurt was still too raw, too fresh.

knock,knock.

Again, there was a knock at the door. View sighed and got up to answer it. I didn't care who it was. My world had already shattered; nothing could make it worse.

But then I heard a familiar voice—one that sent a jolt of both anger and longing through me. "Who are you?" Ling's voice demanded.

"Who am I?" View replied defensively. "Who are you?"

"Ling?" I whispered, barely able to believe it.

Ling's voice was cold, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, so you've already found someone new. Thanks for 'loving me,' Orm." She even made air quotes with her fingers, mocking the words.

My chest tightened with anger. "Oh, come on, Ling. It's not like you can be jealous—you dumped me. If you need someone to fuck you, go buy a sex toy."

"Right, well, at least it's going to do a better job than you," she shot back, her words cutting deep.

"Oh, so you want me to remind you of your mo—"

"Enough!" View interrupted sharply. "Come in, Ling. You two are going to talk, okay? I'm not fucking her or whatever you're imagining. So just say what you need to say and leave. Goodbye!" With that, View walked out, leaving me and Ling alone in the room.

Ling's eyes were dark, filled with a mixture of anger and something else—something I couldn't quite place. "To be exact, I didn't moan," she spat out, trying to deny what had happened between us.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered bitterly, crossing my arms over my chest.

She took a deep breath, as if trying to steady herself. "I wanted to explain... things."