Shattered (PONDPHUWIN)

Chapter 18: The Final Confession

Phuwin had just returned from another therapy session with Dr. Nira. Each visit helped him peel back the layers of pain and betrayal, allowing him to slowly rebuild the pieces of his life that had been shattered. The work was hard, the progress often slow, but he was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was learning to live with the scars, to accept that the wounds would always be a part of him, but they didn't have to define him.

As he settled into the quiet of his apartment, his phone buzzed on the table. Phuwin picked it up, expecting a message from Gemini or perhaps a work-related email. Instead, the screen displayed an unknown number. He hesitated, his heart skipping a beat. He wasn't in the habit of answering calls from unknown numbers, but something compelled him to pick up this time.

"Hello?" Phuwin's voice was cautious, unsure.

There was a brief silence on the other end before a familiar voice spoke. "Phuwin, it's Dunk."

Phuwin's heart stopped. The last person he had expected—or wanted—to hear from was Dunk. The mere sound of his voice brought back a flood of memories, none of them pleasant. He had worked so hard to push Dunk out of his mind, to focus on healing and moving forward, and now here he was, intruding on the fragile peace Phuwin had been trying to build.

"What do you want, Dunk?" Phuwin's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. He didn't have the energy to deal with this, not after everything that had happened.

"I know I'm the last person you want to hear from," Dunk began, his tone filled with regret. "But there's something I need to tell you. Please, just give me a few minutes."

Phuwin clenched his jaw, considering whether to hang up. But something in Dunk's voice—perhaps the desperation, or maybe the hint of guilt—made him pause. If there was one thing Phuwin had learned through therapy, it was that sometimes facing the truth, no matter how painful, was necessary for closure.

"Fine," Phuwin replied curtly. "You've got five minutes."

Dunk sighed in relief, though his voice was still tinged with anxiety. "Thank you, Phuwin. I know this isn't easy. I know I've hurt you more than I can ever make up for, but there's something you need to know—something Pond never told you."

Phuwin's grip on the phone tightened. He had' thought he knew everything—every painful detail of the betrayal. But Dunk's words sent a chill down his spine. "What are you talking about?"

"When Pond and I started... whatever it was we had... it wasn't just a fling," Dunk confessed, his voice heavy with guilt. "It wasn't some brief affair that ended quickly. It was much more than that, and it went on longer than you probably think."

Phuwin's breath caught in his throat. "How long?"

Dunk hesitated, as if weighing whether to reveal the full extent of the truth. "It started months before you found out, Phuwin. It wasn't just a moment of weakness for Pond—it was a sustained relationship, something that became more intense over time."

Phuwin felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He had known about the affair, had confronted Pond about it, but to hear that it had lasted so long, that it had been so deeply entrenched, was almost too much to bear. "Why are you telling me this now, Dunk?" he asked, his voice shaking with barely contained emotion.

"Because you deserve to know the full truth," Dunk replied, his voice cracking. "Pond tried to downplay it, to make it seem like it wasn't as serious as it was, but I can't let you go on thinking that. I need you to understand how it started, why it happened."

Phuwin was silent, bracing himself for what Dunk was about to say next.

"I pursued Pond out of jealousy," Dunk admitted, his words a bitter confession. "I knew he was with you, knew how much he loved you, and I envied that. I wanted to see if I could break that, if I could make him want me instead. At first, it was just a game, a challenge to see if I could get his attention. But... it got out of hand. I never expected to actually fall for him."

Phuwin closed his eyes, the weight of Dunk's confession pressing down on him like a physical burden. "So it wasn't just a fling," he whispered, the pain in his voice evident. "It was something real for both of you."

"Yes," Dunk replied, the word hanging in the air like a death knell. "It became real, and by the time I realized what I had done, it was too late. I didn't just hurt you, Phuwin—I hurt myself too. And Pond... he was torn between us. I saw how much he struggled, how much he hated himself for what he was doing to you, but he couldn't walk away from me either."

Phuwin felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes, but he forced them back, refusing to let Dunk hear him break down. "Why are you telling me this now?" he demanded, his voice filled with anguish. "Why couldn't you just let me move on?"

"Because I couldn't live with myself if I didn't tell you the whole truth," Dunk said softly. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, Phuwin. I don't deserve it. But I needed to tell you everything, so you can decide what to do with it, so you can have the closure you need."

Phuwin took a deep, shaky breath, trying to process the new information. He had come so far in his healing journey, had started to rebuild his life piece by piece, and now this—a final twist that threatened to unravel everything.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you, Dunk," Phuwin said finally, his voice steadier than he felt. "But I appreciate you telling me the truth. I needed to hear it, even if it hurts."

Dunk was silent for a moment, then he spoke, his voice filled with remorse. "I understand. I just hope that, someday, you can find peace. You deserve that much, Phuwin."

Phuwin nodded, even though Dunk couldn't see him. "I do deserve peace, Dunk. And I'm going to find it. But whatever happens, this is the last time we'll speak. I need to move on from this, from you, from everything."

Dunk's voice was barely a whisper. "I wish you the best, Phuwin. Goodbye."

Phuwin ended the call and set the phone down on the table, his heart heavy with the weight of what he had just learned. The truth had been revealed, and it had cut deep, but it had also brought a strange kind of closure.

Phuwin knew that the past would always be a part of him, a chapter in his life that had shaped who he was. But it didn't have to define him. He could take the pain, the betrayal, the truth, and use it to forge a new path—one that wasn't tied to the mistakes of others, but to his own strength, resilience, and self-worth.

For the first time in a long time, Phuwin felt a sense of freedom. The chains that had bound him to the past were finally broken, and he was ready to move forward, to find peace, to heal.