FEAR OF FONDNESS

Chapter 67 BLOW-UP-III

Shinaya's POV:

Each word she said chipped away at my sanity. It was like I was being pulled into a whirlpool—and the deeper I sank, the harder it became to breathe.

"I—I don't believe it... this—this must be a misunderstanding," I stammered, my voice shaking. "He... he can't kill someone like that."

But even as the words left my mouth, they didn't sound convincing.

Not even to me.

The open air felt tight around my lungs. I was suffocating in plain sight.

Abeera inhaled slowly, as if steadying herself. "I know..." she nodded. "It's hard to believe. But you need to face it now, Shinaya. You can't keep denying it forever." Her voice was calm—too calm. As if she had made peace with something I was still drowning in.

My fingertips pressed into the bench beside me. I tried to inhale, slow and deep, but it was useless. Nothing worked. The panic had wrapped itself around my chest like a noose.

"Shinaya," she reached for my hand gently.

I flinched and pulled away.

She's lying.
She has to be lying.
Wassal can't do that.
He wouldn't.

My heart was screaming. My throat burned.

My eyes shot up to hers. "HE. CAN. NOT. DO. THIS!" I gasped, a single tear falling down my cheek. "I—I'll ask him myself. He won't lie to me. He never does!" I said it to her. Maybe to myself. Hoping the repetition would make it true.

Her eyes widened in panic.

"No!" she cried. "I only told you because you wanted to know! I wasn't supposed to say anything! This isn't on me!" Her voice cracked as she stood, her skin pale, eyes wild.

She dropped beside me again and gripped my hands tightly. "You can't say anything to him, Shinaya. Please. I told you as a friend. You can't do this to me!"

Her hands were trembling.

And mine were already cold.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to blame you," I said, trying to sound stable. But even I didn't believe my own voice.

"No, you don't understand!" she snapped, running both hands through her hair. Her panic was unraveling. "He's crazy about you, Shinaya. Obsessed."

...

...

...

She took a step back, tears brimming in her eyes. 

"You remember when you broke your arm that year? The bullying incident?"

"He blamed me for that."

"He had the maid steal my school ID."

"I missed my exam. I had to repeat the whole damn year, shinaya! the whole damn year!" She let out a bitter laugh as tears rolled down her eyes." And it wasn't even my fault," she added.

"What do you think he'll do now that I told you the truth?"

I couldn't think. Couldn't move. My mind was going numb.

Everything started spinning.

I couldn't tell if it was the fear or the betrayal that was making my body go desensitized.

She crouched down on the bench again, her voice breaking.

"Please, Shinaya... don't tell him," she begged, each word heavy with desperation. "I'm begging you." Her tear-streaked face made my chest tighten. Abeera Javaid—cranky, egoistic, unshaken—was begging.