𝑀𝒶𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶 | 𝟏𝟖+

19.

Ellianna Kingston

I closed the door softly behind me, leaning back against it as a heavy silence settled around me. The room felt cold and empty like the weight of everything I'd just learned had somehow seeped into the walls. I was alone, and yet the words Kairos had said echoed over and over in my head, refusing to let me have a moment's peace.

Nadia knowing everything wasn't even the worst of it but somehow it stung more.

That single sentence gnawed at me, leaving a hollow ache in my chest. I trusted her and leaned on her.  She knew about Kairos, knew who he was, what he was. And not only that—she'd pretended, lied, kept me in the dark because...why? Because Kairos had asked her to?

I pushed away from the door, feeling a restless energy coil within me. The questions swirled, each one sharper and more painful than the last. Why would my friends, the people I thought I could rely on, keep this from me? Did they think I couldn't handle the truth? Because of Lukas?

I sat down on the edge of the bed, staring blankly ahead as more pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, forming a picture I wasn't sure I wanted to see. Ivy working for him. That was what the phone call between him and Lacy had been about—Kairos briefly mentioned it.

Some arrangements with Ivy. And here I was, completely unaware, oblivious to the fact that the people closest to me had woven themselves into his world.

And then there was Juliet. She had known, too. She'd been married to Nik—Kairos's brother. How long had that been going on? And how did I not know? How had none of them told me, not even once? It felt as though every person I'd trusted had slipped into this world behind my back, creating a web that connected all of them while leaving me isolated, the only one without a clue.

I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering as the reality of it all sank in. It had been under my nose the whole time.

A quiet frustration simmered inside me, mingling with the hurt, twisting into something bitter and raw. They had all treated me like I couldn't handle the truth like I was someone who needed protecting. But from what? From Kairos? Lacy?

I couldn't help but wonder if any of them had ever intended to tell me. Maybe this was their plan all along, to keep me in the dark indefinitely, to keep me shielded from the truths they'd all become so accustomed to hiding. Or maybe they thought I'd figure it out eventually and just... accept it. As if it was something I'd just get used to, something I'd shrug off and learn to live with.

But I couldn't shrug it off. Not now. Not after hearing Kairos talk to Lacy, after realizing that everything I thought I knew had been a carefully constructed lie. I had been left out of my own life, blind to the truths everyone else had shared.

I slipped under the covers, pulling them up tightly around myself as if they could shield me from the doubts and questions filling my mind. It felt absurd, lying here trying to process it all while knowing they were all out there somewhere, carrying on as if nothing had changed. As if I was still the same girl they'd let believe she knew what was happening around her.

My eyes burned, but I fought back the tears, determined not to let this break me. I didn't know what tomorrow would bring or what I'd do with all of this, but tonight, I needed the quiet. I needed the space to breathe, to clear my mind of the lies, of Kairos's voice, just everything.

Tonight, I just needed to sleep, to rest, to let the hurt settle into something manageable.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to drift off, even as the questions continued to echo softly in the dark.

—

I dragged myself out of bed, feeling the heaviness still lodged in my chest, and wandered over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. But as I opened it, I felt a new wave of frustration creep in.

Barely anything left. My comfy clothes were practically gone, only left with what I could only describe as... scraps. Tiny dresses, plunging tops, everything Lavi wanted me to wear for Kairos.

I glanced over at my phone lying on the nightstand. I'd turned it on only briefly when I woke up, half-thinking that one of my friends might've had the decency to explain. But I'd barely unlocked the screen when messages started flooding in—notifications piling up, one after the other, all from people who had been silent before.

It was too much. I'd switched it off again before I could even make sense of the words. But there was one message I'd glimpsed, one I hadn't been able to ignore before powering it down.

Nadia's name on the screen, asking me to meet her at the bar.

My pulse quickened at the thought, a mix of hurt and anger bubbling up inside me. The idea of facing her, of looking into her eyes and knowing she'd hidden everything from me, made my stomach twist. She knew everything. Pretended she didn't.

Kairos agreeing with my decision to avoid her, not that his opinion mattered, fueled me to ignore her more.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, fingers idly picking at the cover as I let the idea roll around in my head. What could she even say that would make this okay? There was no excuse for lying to me, for pretending to be my friend when all the while she knew the truth.

But then, another part of me—the part that needed answers, that needed to understand why—couldn't ignore the chance to confront her. I wanted to hear it from her lips, to see her face when she tried to justify it.

Maybe she would have a reason, some explanation that could make sense of this tangled mess. Or maybe it would only confirm that everything I'd believed about my friends, about the trust we shared, had been an illusion.

With a frustrated sigh, I stood up and grabbed my phone again, briefly toying with the idea of turning it back on, just to check the messages. But I stopped myself. No. I didn't want to deal with the noise right now, the barrage of explanations and half-hearted apologies that would inevitably be waiting for me.

Whatever Kairos had said to them, it had been enough to make them reach out, to suddenly act like they cared. But I couldn't deal with that—not yet.

Instead, I tossed the phone back onto the bed and took a deep breath, feeling the resolve settle in my chest. I would go meet her. I would give her the chance to say her piece, to explain whatever twisted reasoning she had for keeping this from me. But I wouldn't make it easy. She'd have to work for it, to prove that her reasons were worth listening to.

And maybe, just maybe, I'd find some sliver of closure in all of this.

I smoothed down my clothes, resisting the urge to grab one of the few outfits left in the wardrobe and change, and headed toward the door. The hallway was quiet as I made my way out, the echo of my footsteps the only sound as I steeled myself for what was to come.