Beneath Their Devotion (Yanderes x Reader)

15. Betrayal

Y/N hurried back to her dorm with her fingers clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms to ground herself. But it was no use—the tears came anyway, slipping hot and fast down her cheeks.

Why did it always end like this? Why did everything she tried to hold onto crumble the moment she thought she was safe? She never should have opened up.

Mika's words replayed in her head, each word more hurtful than the other. The look in Mika's eyes—an emotion Y/N didn't want to name—had struck her harder than she cared to admit. How had things come to this?

Just a little further, she told herself as she rounded the corner, her dorm finally in sight. She could hide under her blankets, shut out the world, and figure out how to fix things later.

"Y/N."

Startled, Y/N stopped in her tracks. She looked up, wiping her face quickly with her sleeve as Yuuichi emerged from the shadows near her door. His hands were tucked into his hoodie pockets and his hood was pulled up to frame his face in darkness.

"Yuuichi," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

He took a slow step toward her, tilting his head in that way he always seemed to do when he was studying her. "You're crying."

Her instinct was to deny it. To wave him off, say something meaningless like she was just stressed, and leave before the situation turned into something she wasn't ready to handle. But she was tired—too tired to lie, too tired to care.

"Had a fight with my roommate," Y/N muttered, looking away.

Yuuichi didn't react at first, simply watching her with that same unreadable expression. After a moment, he shrugged. "What was it about?"

Y/N hesitated, she considered brushing him off, but the words spilled out before she could stop herself. Maybe because she was too tired to hold them in. Or maybe, deep down, she needed someone to hear her.

"It was something about the Circle." Her voice wavered, but she forced herself to keep going. "I thought we were friends, but now it feels like she's just pushing me away."

Yuuichi hummed softly, almost thoughtfully. He didn't offer any comforting platitudes, nor did he tell her it would be okay.

"That's how people are," he said, his tone casual but laced with something darker. "They'll stick around when it's convenient, when you're useful. But the moment things get tough, or they find something better, they'll cut you loose without a second thought."

Y/N froze, his words hitting far too close to the feelings she'd been trying to suppress. A part of her wanted to protest, to tell him he was wrong, but another part—the defeated part—whispered that maybe he was right.

"You trusted her, didn't you?" Yuuichi continued, his voice deceptively soft. "Thought she'd always have your back. That's your problem, Y/N. You think people are better than they are."

She flinched, her chest tightening as a small, traitorous voice inside her whispered that he was right. It was tempting to agree. Tempting to let herself believe that it wasn't her fault—that it was everyone else who was the problem.

For a brief moment, she opened her mouth, ready to say something in agreement, ready to give in to the bitterness clawing at her chest. But then something inside her snapped.

"Mind your own business, Yuuichi," Y/N said sharply. He blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in her tone, but she didn't stop. "You don't know Mika. You don't know anything about us. And most of all, you don't know me. So stop projecting your hatred onto my situation."