Whispers of Betrayal

She suddenly looked in my direction, her eyes collided with mine across the dimly lit kitchen, staring with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

"It's because of you," she said softly, her voice barely more than a breath, yet each word hit like a blade sinking into my chest. I struggled to breathe, my lungs heavy and tight, as though they were filling with smoke.

Then the voices began. They rose from every corner, every shadowed corner of the room, a cacophony of whispers overlapping, voices from the past, dredged up from the darkest corners of my mind.

"She must have done something, or why would he treat her that way...?"

"She's a whore......"

"All that innocence, all that sweetness... all an act. I knew it."

The words sliced through me, cutting deep, each one like a jagged shard piercing my skin. My hands flew to my ears, trying to block them out, but they only grew louder, the words pressing in from every direction.

"No, please... no!" My voice broke, shattering as I screamed into the empty kitchen, my vision blurring with tears. The voices kept coming, louder and louder, the words twisting around me, binding me in place and then it was all dark.