Stolen by Fate

Chapter 21: Broken

Chapter 21: Broken

I didn't know how to process everything. The pain hit me in waves, pulling me under until I could barely breathe. The betrayal cut deeper than anything I'd ever felt before. I had given Adrian my heart, my body, my trust—and he'd shattered it all.

I cried. And when I couldn't cry anymore, I drank. I smoked. I did anything to numb the ache in my chest. My room became a mess of empty liquor bottles and the lingering smell of weed. I just wanted to forget, to drown everything out until I couldn't feel a thing.

Alyssa was with me through it all. She tried to comfort me, to pull me out of the downward spiral I was in. But nothing she said could fix the damage. I pushed her away, locked myself in my world of pain, and let the numbness take over.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself," Alyssa had said one night, sitting beside me on the couch while I stared blankly at the TV, an empty bottle in my hand. "I know you're hurting, but this isn't helping. It's making things worse."

I ignored her, taking another swig of whatever cheap alcohol I'd managed to get my hands on. Alyssa sighed, her voice thick with guilt. "He's not worth this, Ni. You're better than this."

But nothing seemed to matter anymore. Nothing except the fact that Adrian had used me. He'd made me believe in us, made me feel like what we had was real. And then I found out it was all a lie. How could I possibly move on from that?

Alyssa watched me for a while, her expression torn between anger and worry. She didn't want to see me like this. Eventually, she got up, pacing around the room as if she was battling with herself.

Finally, she stopped and pulled out her phone. "I can't stand watching you do this anymore," she muttered. "I'm calling him."

I barely registered what she said. I didn't care. I didn't care about anything anymore.

A few hours later, Adrian showed up.

I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to hear his excuses, his explanations, or whatever lies he had prepared this time. But there he was, standing in the doorway, taking in the mess I'd made of myself and the room. His eyes flickered with something—guilt, maybe. Or regret. I didn't care enough to figure out which.

"Ni..." he started softly, stepping inside. "What the hell happened to you?"

I turned away from him, burying my face in the couch cushions. I didn't want his concern. I didn't want him to pretend like he cared.

But Adrian didn't leave. He moved around the room, silently picking up the empty bottles, gathering the ashtrays filled with burnt-out joints, and cleaning up the mess I didn't have the energy to deal with. I heard the clinking of glass as he threw the bottles into the trash, the sound too loud in the silence.

"I don't need your help," I muttered, my voice raw and broken.

"I'm not here because you need my help," he replied, his tone calm but firm. "I'm here because I care."

I laughed bitterly, still not looking at him. "Care? That's a joke, right? You don't care about me, Adrian. You never did. I was just part of your plan, remember?"

He paused, and I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to meet his gaze.

"I called it off," he said quietly, the words hanging in the air between us.

For the first time since he'd walked in, I turned to face him, anger boiling up inside me. "You called it off? What the hell does that even mean?"

Adrian took a deep breath, running a hand through his dreads. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. The plan, at first, was just to... get close to you. To make you trust me so I could use you to get what I needed. But after that night... after I was with you, everything changed."

I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying, my heart pounding in my chest. "Changed? How?"

"I fell for you," he said, his voice heavy with sincerity. "After we slept together, I couldn't go through with the plan. I didn't care about the money or the ransom anymore. I cared about you."

I shook my head, the anger and confusion swirling inside me. "Then why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you stop all of this before it went this far?"

"I tried," he said, stepping closer, his eyes pleading with mine. "I called off the plan. I told the guy I was working with that I was out, that I didn't want to go through with it anymore. But he wasn't having it. He pushed back, threatened to come after both of us if I didn't finish the job."

My breath caught in my throat. "Who is this guy? What the hell did you get me involved in, Adrian?"

"It doesn't matter," he said quickly, shaking his head. "I'll handle it. I just need you to believe me when I say that I'm done with all of it. I'm not trying to hurt you anymore. I never wanted to hurt you in the first place."

I stood up, my body still unsteady from the drinking, but the emotions were sobering me up fast. "You already did hurt me, Adrian. You made me believe you loved me, and it was all part of some sick plan. How am I supposed to trust anything you say?"

He looked at me, and for a second, I saw the guilt, the regret, the pain that mirrored my own. "I don't expect you to trust me right away. But I need you to know that I'm trying to make things right. I don't want to lose you."

I didn't know what to say. The betrayal was too fresh, too raw. But in that moment, despite everything, I still cared about him. And that hurt more than anything.

Before I could respond, Alyssa, who had been quietly watching from the kitchen, finally spoke up. "This is messed up, Adrian. You've done some serious damage. If you really care about Ni, you better fix this. And fast."

Adrian nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. "I will. I promise."

I didn't know if I could believe him, but there was a part of me—small as it was—that wanted to. Even after everything, I wasn't ready to let him go.