The Bet & The Heart.

CHAPTER X

At that moment, the front door creaked open, and Sofia's voice echoed faintly as she stepped inside, her conversation with her aunt trailing off. Syafiq's heart pounded in his ears as he heard her footsteps approaching. He tried to gather himself, but the tumult of emotions roiling within him made it impossible. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as he struggled to steady his breathing.

Sofia walked into her room, freezing when she saw Syafiq standing there, surrounded by the scattered letters and the fallen bouquet of daisies. Her eyes widened in shock and confusion as she took in the scene. "Syafiq... what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He turned to face her, his expression a mixture of anger and pain. "I was looking for you," he said, his voice low and strained. "But instead, I found these." He gestured to the letters on the floor and the invitation that lay open on the desk. "Nadhir? You're marrying him?

The silence in the room was suffocating as Sofia froze in the doorway, her gaze falling on the letters scattered on the floor, the wedding invitation lying open, and the daisies crumpled beneath Syafiq's feet. Her chest tightened at the sight of him standing there, his expression a mixture of shock and betrayal.

"You're marrying him?" Syafiq's voice broke the silence, trembling with rage. He held up the wedding invitation as though it were a knife pointed at his own heart. "You were just going to leave without saying a damn thing?" His voice rose, the hurt and anger unmistakable. "Was this all just some kind of joke to you?"

Sofia's face flushed with both guilt and frustration. "No, it wasn't like that, Syafiq!" she cried, taking a step closer. "I didn't know how to—"

"You didn't know how to what?" he cut her off, his eyes blazing. "You didn't know how to tell me you were planning a future with someone else while we were—" His voice cracked, and he threw the invitation onto the bed as if it disgusted him. "While I was here falling in love with you?"

Sofia's eyes widened, her heart pounding in her chest. "Syafiq, it wasn't like that," she pleaded, her voice trembling. "You don't understand. It was hard to choose between you and Nadhir. My family really wants me to be with him."

"Then choose him!" Syafiq shot back, his anger spilling over. "I don't want to be part of your family anymore. You're just going to throw away everything we had because they want you to? What about what you want?"

"It's not that simple!" she cried, frustration and pain mingling in her voice. "You think I want to hurt you? I didn't plan for any of this. But my family—"

"Your family?" he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "You're just going to let them dictate your life? How could you let them get in the way of what we had?"

The sting of his words ignited a fire inside Sofia, anger swelling alongside the hurt. "Don't you dare act like you're some kind of victim," she snapped, her voice shaking. "You're not innocent in all of this, Syafiq. I know about the bet."

Syafiq's face blanched, his eyes widening in shock. "What?"

"That's right," Sofia continued, her voice cold and bitter. "You think I didn't know? That all of this started because of some stupid dare? How could you stand there and judge me when you didn't even have the decency to tell me the truth from the beginning?"

"It wasn't like that!" he shot back, anger flaring in his eyes. "The bet was a mistake, but everything after—" He shook his head, his voice rising with desperation. "It was real. I fell for you, Sofia! I loved you!"

She let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "You loved me?" she spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You lied to me from the start. You let me believe you cared when I was just some kind of game to you. How do I know any of it was real?"