Everything… came crashing down like a boom.
No warning. No signs. Just—snap. Gone.
One minute, I had it all — a decent job, a girlfriend I adored, a best friend who was basically family.
Or so I thought.
"Honey, wake up. It's 9 a.m. You've got to get ready for the office."
Her voice was soft — the kind that wraps around your head like a blanket.
The curtains flew open, and sunlight stabbed at my eyes.
I squinted, groaning, but smiled when I saw her.
There she was — standing in that worn-out tee that barely reached her thighs, hair messy, eyes gentle.
Way too perfect for someone like me.
"Hey…" I said, still half-asleep but meaning it.
Mona smiled.
"Breakfast's ready. Got the eggs right this time."
She looked genuinely proud.
I dragged myself up and gave her a quick hug on the way to the bathroom.
She held on for a second longer than usual. Huh.
As I turned on the sink, my phone buzzed.
Three missed calls.
Rafael.
A dancing banana gif. Classic Rafael.
Then:
"You didn't forget you promised to help me today, right? 😑"
Right. I'd said I'd help him with some paperwork at the office.
He was my guy. Had been since middle school.
Always quick to pray, quick to laugh. The kind of best friend that felt permanent.
I sat down to breakfast in our tiny, slightly-falling-apart apartment.
The place creaked when it breathed, but I'd never felt more at peace anywhere else.
"Mmm… you really did get the eggs right this time."
Her face lit up like I'd just proposed.
"Really? You're not just being nice?"
"Would I lie about food?" I smirked.
She chuckled, brushing her hair back with that nervous little gesture of hers.
"So… what time will you be back?"
"Not sure. I promised Rafael I'd stay a bit late to help out."
She nodded — too quickly.
"Okay."
"Something wrong?" I asked.
She paused, fingers tapping on the edge of the plate.
"Just wanted to spend a bit more time with you today."
I took her hand.
"This weekend, I'm all yours. No Rafael, no work. Just us. Promise."
She smiled. But something in her eyes… didn't.
I grabbed my bag and headed out.
The second I stepped outside, I felt it — cold wind, despite the sun.
And then—
"Lust."
A whisper. Right against my ear.
I spun around.
Nothing.
Goosebumps crawled up my arms. My chest tightened.
What the hell was that?
I shook it off. Must've imagined it.
I stepped into the office.
But the office was different. Off. Like a place holding its breath. People whispered, eyes darting. The kind of quiet that wasn't really quiet — just the calm before something explodes.
"Jamal," I said, catching a familiar face. "What the hell's going on?"
"You didn't hear?" he looked around, then leaned closer. "Major data breach. Someone's been leaking insider info to outside clients. Millions lost."
"What?" My stomach dropped.
"Yeah, man. Legal and compliance are in. They're interviewing everyone."
My eyes drifted to the glass-walled conference room.
Rafael stood inside — composed, collected — flipping through a file while talking to someone from legal.
"They questioning him?" I asked.
Jamal shook his head. "No. He's the one who flagged the breach, apparently. He's been in there all morning. I think he's even leading parts of the investigation."
Something in my gut twisted.
Then — another coworker stepped out. His eyes scanned the floor, landed on me, and froze. His expression was strange… unreadable.
Then my phone buzzed.
Rafael.
He sent a video.
I clicked it open.
It took me two seconds to understand what I was seeing.
Mona.
Rafael.
His hands on her. Her hands on him. Her voice—soft, breathy—whispering my name like it was a lie.
The floor tilted. My breath caught.
My chest clenched — air wouldn't come in.
Skin crawling.
Head spinning.
Heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted out.
"Alex," Rafael's voice called from across the office. "They're ready for you."
Everything was slow.
I walked in.
The room was filled — department heads, compliance officers, HR. Rafael stood at the front, cool and confident.
"As I was saying," Rafael began, flipping through a few slides, "after tracing the flagged transactions, all the suspicious communications and account accesses route back to one internal user."
He clicked a button.
My employee profile photo appeared on the screen.
Alex Patterson.
Gasps. Eyes turned.
"Mr. Patterson," a compliance officer said, turning to me, "we've identified a pattern of activity under your credentials. We'd like you to take a look and respond."
I was handed a folder.
My hands shook. I flipped through.
Emails I never wrote. Transactions I never made.
It was thorough. Set up perfectly.
I could hear my own pulse in my ears.
"Pending further investigation," the HR lead said gently, "we'll have to place you under temporary suspension. You'll be escorted out today for formalities."
Rafael stepped close. Too close.
Slipped me a smile like a blade.
"No hard feelings, buddy."
Something broke.
I swung.
One punch.
Two.
I don't remember how many.
Tears blurred my vision. I couldn't stop.
Security rushed in, tore me off him.
My ears were ringing.
Security grabbed my arms, firm and cold.
I didn't resist. What was the point?
I looked up—
Every eye in that goddamn room was on me.
Suits. Interns. Assistants.Even Jamal, standing frozen by the copier.
Some stared in shock.Some whispered.Some just looked away, like I was already gone.
My heart was beating so loud, I couldn't even hear the words Rafael whispered to one of the execs.
They didn't matter.
What mattered was that video burning in my head.Mona's voice still echoing. Her moans. His name.
I wanted to scream.I wanted to vanish.
But all I could do was let them drag me out like a criminal.
And behind me—Rafael
Now here I was.
Somehow, I'd ended up in a park. Couldn't even tell how I got here.Just... drifted. Like my body moved while my mind stayed back there — in that room, in that moment.
It was night now.The rain wouldn't stop.
It poured like the sky was mourning something I hadn't even buried yet.
I sat there—on a bench that felt colder than steel—my shirt soaked, my tie undone and limp around my neck like it'd given up too.
I didn't know how long I'd been here.
Hours maybe.
No thoughts.No words.Just… broken noise inside my head.
My phone buzzed again.
Mona.
I stared at the screen.
Her name glowing in the dark, over and over.
She kept calling.And calling.And calling.
I gave in.
Fingers numb, I swiped.
"Alex? Where are you? The news… is it true?"Her voice—soft, shaken, concerned.
Or pretending to be.
I couldn't talk.My lips wouldn't move.My brain refused to play along with whatever this game was.
"Alex, please… say something."
A pause.
"Are you with Rafael?"
His name.Coming from her mouth.
I clenched the phone so hard my fingers turned white.
Then—snap.
I stood, threw the phone as hard as I could against a tree.It shattered. Just like me.
"FUCK!"I screamed.
The rain didn't care.The night didn't care.No one did.
I was alone.
And for the first time in my life—Completely, utterly hollow.
Just the sound of rain, and my heartbeat trying to remember how to exist.
Then… a shadow.
I flinched.
A man stood in front of me — black suit, black umbrella, and a book so thick it looked older than time.
The rain didn't touch him.
Not a single drop.
He didn't speak at first. Just watched me with eyes too red to be human.
I didn't say anything either. Couldn't care to. My soul felt like a torn paper in a hurricane.
He finally stepped forward, slow and calm, and sat beside me like we were old friends.
His voice was gentle. Too gentle.
"Your eyes…" he said, "they're hollow."
I didn't look at him. I stared at my shattered phone lying near the tree, blinking under the rain.
A tear slid down. I let it.
"I know how it feels," he said, "to be forsaken."
I scoffed. My voice cracked.
"You don't know shit."
He smiled at that. Not wide. Not forced. Just... knowing.
"Do you want revenge?" he asked softly. "On those who broke you?"
That was the first time I looked at him properly.
His limbs were long — unnaturally so. Skin pale like paper left in the dark.But it was his eyes…
Red. Deep. Drowning.Like blood frozen in time.
He didn't blink once.
"I can help," he said. "I can grant you power. Strength to make them suffer. To tear them down like they did to you."
He leaned closer, rain still refusing to touch him.
"All you have to do…"
That smile.That voice.The world around us dimmed.
"…is sell your soul to me."