Rhythm Of Deceit

Chapter 18: Unraveling Threads

The following days were a blur of confusion and fear. The library meeting with Sofia had left me shaken to the core. The world I thought I understood had fractured, leaving me with a thousand questions and no answers. How had I been so blind? How had I missed the signs of Rio’s darker side?

I wanted to believe Sofia, but it was hard to reconcile the Rio I had known—the charming, confident, sometimes arrogant young man—with the monster she described. Could it really be true? Had I been just another pawn in his game?

And then there was Adler. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. His quiet concern for me, his warning to stay away from Rio, suddenly felt less like the protective friend I’d always known and more like a man trying to protect his own territory. Was I being manipulated by both of them? Was it even possible to trust anyone anymore?

The weight of these thoughts pressed on my chest as I walked across campus that afternoon, my mind in turmoil. It felt like I was suffocating under the pressure of all the secrets I now knew—secrets that kept spiraling out of control.

I didn’t even notice Adler approaching until he was right in front of me.

"Aniya," he said, his voice gentle but firm. "We need to talk."

I froze. His eyes were filled with concern, but there was something else there too—something unreadable. My stomach twisted. "About what?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"About everything," he said quietly, his gaze flickering around as if checking for anyone nearby. "We need to talk about Rio, and about what’s really going on."

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat almost choking me. "I don’t know if I’m ready for that."

Adler stepped closer, his presence warm and comforting, but his eyes never left mine. "Aniya, please. I know you’ve been talking to Sofia, and I know you’ve heard the rumors. But you have to understand, there’s more to this than you think. I’ve been trying to protect you, trying to keep you out of it. But I can’t do that if you’re not willing to listen."

I wanted to argue, to push back against the storm of thoughts racing through my mind, but his words caught me off guard. He was right. I had been so focused on what I thought I knew about Rio that I hadn’t stopped to consider what Adler was trying to tell me. He had been there, looking out for me all along, even when I hadn’t asked him to.

But how could I trust him now? How could I be sure that he wasn’t hiding something from me too?

"You said you wanted to protect me," I said, my voice quieter now. "But what if I don’t know who to trust anymore? What if I can’t trust you?"

The words felt like a punch to both of us, but Adler didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped even closer, his expression softening. "I understand why you’re confused, Aniya. I do. But I’m not asking you to trust me blindly. I’m asking you to listen. Please. Rio has been playing a dangerous game, and you’re in the middle of it. I know you care about him, but you can’t let him drag you into this."

My heart ached at the mention of Rio’s name. The emotions inside me were so tangled, so complicated. Part of me wanted to believe Adler, to trust him completely. But the other part of me— the part that still cared about Rio, still remembered the good times—couldn’t just turn away.

"I don’t know what to believe anymore," I whispered, almost to myself. "I don’t know who I am anymore."

Adler reached out and placed a hand on my arm, his touch warm but gentle. "You’re Aniya, the same person you’ve always been. Don’t lose yourself in all of this."

I looked at him, searching his face for any sign of dishonesty, any hint that he wasn’t being completely honest with me. But all I saw was sincerity. His blue eyes were open and vulnerable, the way they always had been when he was being real with me.

"I just don’t want you to get hurt," he said, his voice soft, his grip on my arm tightening slightly. "Please, Aniya. Let me help you."

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my racing thoughts. This was it. This was the moment where I had to make a choice—where I had to decide who I could trust and who I couldn’t. Could I rely on Adler, my friend, the person who had always been there for me? Or had I already been too deep in Rio’s world to pull myself out?

"I don’t know if I can trust anyone right now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don’t know what’s real anymore."

Adler sighed, pulling me into a gentle embrace. For a moment, everything else faded away—the questions, the doubt, the fear—and I allowed myself to just feel the comfort of his presence. But even as his arms wrapped around me, I couldn’t escape the nagging thought that maybe the answers I needed were still out of reach.

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Later that evening, I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept replaying the conversation with Adler, his words echoing in my ears. It was clear that he cared about me, but was his concern genuine? Or was he just trying to keep me from Rio? And why did I feel like there was something he wasn’t telling me?

I needed space to think, so I decided to take a walk, hoping the fresh air would help clear my mind. As I stepped out of the dorm and into the quiet campus, I pulled my jacket tighter around me. The night air was crisp, the sky dotted with stars, but it did little to ease the turbulence inside me.

I walked for what felt like hours, letting my feet carry me wherever they would. It wasn’t until I reached the old fountain near the edge of campus that I saw him. Rio. Standing there, by himself, staring into the dark water.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart skipping a beat. What was he doing here?

His head snapped up when he heard my footsteps, his eyes locking onto mine. There was something different in his gaze tonight—something raw, almost vulnerable. "Aniya," he said, his voice hoarse. "We need to talk."

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End of Chapter 18

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