Pon sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at his phone screen, his thoughts a chaotic whirlwind. He desperately tried to make sense of what was happening, to fight against the rising tide of doubt that threatened to pull him under.
It's just someone trying to mess with me, he told himself firmly. An unknown person sending random videos and messages... They're probably just trying to cause trouble. He repeated it over and over, clinging to that thought like a lifeline. But even as he tried to rationalize it, his heart continued to pound painfully in his chest.
Sailub went to his parents' house, didn't he? Pon thought desperately. That's what he told me... His alpha wouldn't lie to him, right? He wouldn't—couldn't—be doing anything behind his back, especially not with Nut of all people.
But then why were these messages so persistent? Why did they feel so personal, so targeted? And why did they make his chest feel tight, his breath come short?
Pon's fingers trembled as he clutched his phone tighter, willing himself to breathe slowly, to stay calm. I should trust him. I have to trust him. But each time he tried to push the doubts away, another message would appear on the screen, taunting him, pulling him back into that dark spiral of insecurity and fear.
Buzz.
His phone vibrated again, the sound making Pon flinch. Why? Why won't they leave me alone? He glanced at the screen, dread coiling in his stomach.
"Check your socials."
The message was short, simple—but it filled Pon with a sickening sense of foreboding. For a moment, he hesitated, his thumb hovering over the app icon. He shouldn't look. He knew he shouldn't. But it was like he was caught in some terrible spell, his body moving of its own accord.
And so, almost mechanically, he opened his social media.
The first thing that greeted him was a headline: "The Truth Behind Thanapon's Conference Absence: Sailub Attending to His True Mate?"
Pon's blood ran cold. His fingers twitched, scrolling down without his permission as he stared at the article in horror. There, in the center of the post, was a picture—a blurry snapshot of Sailub and Nut standing close together, their faces partially hidden by glasses and caps. But Pon knew. He knew those profiles, those stances. He knew his alpha and Nut too well to mistake them for anyone else.
No... His heart squeezed painfully, his breath hitching. The words blurred together as he tried to process what he was seeing.
"If Sailub really cared about Pon, he would have been there."
"This just proves Sailub was never serious about that omega. He belongs with Nut!"
"Pon is just using Sailub for his own gain, how pathetic."
The comments flew past his eyes in a whirlwind of harsh accusations and cruel words. He tried to ignore them, to focus on the few supportive comments that defended him, but the negativity crashed over him like a relentless wave.
"Pon is so manipulative, always playing the victim to gain sympathy."
"I knew Sailub would get tired of him eventually."
"He's just a washed-up omega pretending to be something more."
Each comment was like a knife to his chest, twisting deeper and deeper until it felt like he couldn't breathe. Pon gripped his phone tightly, his hands shaking so badly that the device slipped from his grasp and fell onto the bed beside him.
