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Rooftop
The air atop the Royal Hotel Rooftop didn't just feel cold; it felt sharp, like a razor against the skin. Below them, the city lights of the metropolis blurred into a bokeh of gold and neon, but up here, it was only shadows and the scent of expensive rain.
Raina was finally on her knees. Her engagement dress, once elegant, was now wrinkled and stained with the grit of the concrete. Her eyes, rimed with red from hours of weeping, were locked onto Gabriella's. There was a jagged, raw pain in them—the kind that only comes when the person you'd die for is the one who hands you the poison.
Gabriella blinked, the wind whipping her dark hair across her face. Her voice was a fragile whisper. "No way… he can't. You're lying."
Raina let out a hollow, jagged chuckle that vibrated with agony. "Don't believe men, Gabriella." Her gaze turned glacial. "You were betrayed by your lover, too. Still… do you… believe them?"
Gabriella's expression hardened. Her hand tightened around the hilt of the knife she held. "But… Kevin wasn't like that."
"You don't know him!" Raina scoffed, a tear tracking through the dirt on her cheek. "I'm his lover. I know more than you ever will."
Gabriella stepped forward, the steel of her blade gleaming under the moonlight. She placed it inches from Raina's throat. "Then… what did he do?"
Raina laughed—a sound devoid of joy. "I won't tell. Even though you were his 'friend,' it's between me and him. I don't tell secrets to outsiders."
Gabriella's face contorted. She bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood hit her tongue. With a fluid, angry motion, she flipped her hair back and she opened her palm . a half-broken, silver half-moon bracelet.
Raina lunged to snatch it, her fingers clawing the air, but Gabriella hoisted it high out of reach.
"Is this your token of love?" Gabriella groaned, her voice thick with disgust. "Why do you still keep this as something precious?"
Raina looked away, her jaw tight. "It's none of your concern."
"No one can kill their loved one," Gabriella grinned, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "If you did… it means there was no true love."
"Gabriella!" Raina hissed, her temper finally snapping.
Gabriella looked at the broken silver moon dangling from her fingers. "It's nothing. Just trash." She wound her arm back, ready to hurl it over the edge of the skyscraper.
"NO! Don't throw it!" Raina's scream echoed off the penthouse walls.
Gabriella paused, her eyes shifting back to the girl on her knees. She bent down, leaning in until her lips were inches from Raina's ear. "Then tell me," she whispered in a husky, lethal tone. "What happened back then?"
Raina's shoulders slumped. The fight left her. "Kevin… he collected evidence against me. He documented everything… the way I bullied the other students. He was blackmailing me."
Gabriella's eyes widened. The knife lowered an inch. "Then what?"
"I was betrayed the whole time," Raina scoffed, her voice trembling. "I was blind. Even Ronnie and Han… they warned me. They said his behavior was different, told me not to trust him. But I fought my friends for him! We never used to fight before…" She looked up at Gabriella, her eyes swimming in a toxic mix of regret and rage. "And then we started fighting because of you, Gabriella. Because of you and Kevin."
Gabriella didn't flinch. Her voice was dead. "So you killed him. Just like you tried to kill me at the inter-school dance fest."
A slow, knowing smirk spread across Raina's face. "But you escaped."
Fury flared in Gabriella's chest. A single, hot tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cold cheek. "I want to tear you into pieces, too," she hissed. "Even if you were betrayed… you have no right to harm a person."
Raina chuckled, her eyes darting to the bracelet still in Gabriella's palm. As Gabriella made a move to throw it again, Raina scrambled to her feet with a burst of desperate energy. She grabbed Gabriella's wrist, her nails digging into the skin.
"What are you doing?" Raina gasped. "It's mine! I gave it to him! You don't know what it means to me!"
With a sneer, Gabriella wrenched her arm free and threw the bracelet. It clattered onto the rooftop gravel. Raina dove for it, clutching the broken metal to her chest as if it were a beating heart. She stood up, her face transformed by a cold, predatory calm.
She grabbed Gabriella's hand again, leaning in close. "How did it feel," Raina whispered, her voice like ice, "the moment you realized Jake was betraying you the whole time?"
The name hit Gabriella like a physical blow. Her face crumbled, the memories of Jake—his lies, his false warmth, the way he shattered her world—flooding back.
"The same feeling I felt when Kevin betrayed me!" Raina shouted into the wind. "But I'm not like you. I don't just 'leave' them. I destroy whoever plays with my emotions!"
Raina's eyes were a chaotic storm of agony and vengeance. Gabriella looked at her, seeing her own past reflected in that brokenness. She felt the weight of her own scars. Slowly, Gabriella closed her eyes, letting the tears fall freely as the memory of Jake's betrayal suffocated her.
The Confrontation
Outside the heavy steel doors, the hallway echoed with frantic footsteps. Jake, his tuxedo disheveled and eyes bloodshot with panic, lunged at a man standing guard. He grabbed the bodyguard's collar, his knuckles white.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Jake roared, his voice cracking with the fear of losing his friend.
"He's mine."
The voice was like shards of ice. Jake spun around. Standing a few paces back was Felix, the man Raina was supposed to marry. He looked terrifyingly calm, his tailored suit without a single wrinkle.
"He is my bodyguard," Felix repeated, his gaze hollow.
Jake's eyes narrowed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "What did you do, Felix?"
Felix stepped closer, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across his face. "Don't worry. I'm just as concerned as you are. Perhaps... even more so. After all, I am her fiancé."
Jake scoffed, the sound dripping with hatred. He didn't care about titles; he cared about the girl who had vanished into thin air.
"Any clues?" Felix asked the guard, his tone casual, as if they were discussing the weather rather than a missing person.
"Sir," the guard stammered, "she was last seen by the lift in the engagement hall. After that... she didn't appear on any other footage. She's just... gone."
Jake didn't wait. He sprinted toward the lift area, his heart hammering against his ribs. Felix followed at a measured pace, his mind working like a silent, cunning machine.
When they reached the gold-plated elevators, the silence was deafening. Jake slammed his hand against the call button. Nothing.
"Do you see anything suspicious on the cameras?" Felix asked the guard, though he didn't look at the lenses.
"The rooftop CCTV," the guard muttered, glancing at his tablet. "It's... it's blacked out. Not working."
Jake's head snapped toward the lift doors. He pressed the button again, harder this time.
"No use," Felix said coldly, leaning against the velvet-flocked wall and rolling his eyes. "If you want to go to the rooftop, use the stairs. The lifts are dead."
Jake didn't say a word. He turned and bolted for the stairwell, his footsteps echoing upward.
The bodyguard turned to Felix, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Sir... how did you know the lifts were out? I checked them just before you arrived and—"
"I know things," Felix interrupted, his smirk returning.
"Aren't we going to the roof?" the guard asked.
"No," Felix whispered, checking his silver watch. "I've already sent men to check the elevator. Climbing those stairs is good for Jake. He needs to burn off that useless energy."
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The Royal Hotel Engagement Hall was a sea of gold leaf, crystal chandeliers, and fake smiles. The scent of expensive perfume hung heavy, masking the bitter stench of secrets.
Bianca stood in the center of the room, her breath hitching. She wore a crimson gown that flared like a warning sign, but her face was pale. A group of bodyguards hurried toward her, their heavy boots thumping against the polished marble.
"There's no proof that Raina went outside the hotel, ma'am," the lead guard whispered, his eyes darting around. "We've checked every exit CCTV. She never left."
Bianca's hand flew to her throat, clutching her pearls. "Then she's still here," she hissed, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and fury. "Check every corner! Every closet! If she's in this hotel, find her!"
The Whispers of Doubt
On the other side of the grand stage, framed by massive floral arrangements of white roses, Ronnie and Lara stood like two beautiful statues.
Ronnie leaned in, his voice a frantic whisper. "Where did she go? Raina isn't like this. She wouldn't just vanish." His heart ached.
Lara looked at him, her expression unreadable. Her dress was a shimmering silver, looking like armor under the stage lights. "Do you have any idea where she might gone ?" she asked casually, though her eyes were sharp.
"No," Ronnie said, his jaw tightening. "I can't just sit here. I'm going to search for her."
As Ronnie rushed off into the crowd, Lara's gaze shifted. She felt something wrong. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The second the call connected, her soft, socialite voice turned to ice.
"Where are you now, Ajax?"
"I'll call you later, Lara," Ajax's voice crackled through the line, sounding breathless.
"I know you're up to something," Lara snapped, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the room. "Tell me. Are you behind Raina's disappearance? Is it Gabriella?"
There was a pause on the other end. "I don't have time to explain."
Lara scoffed, a bitter sound. "So you're still following her? I knew it. You and Gabriella are behind this. What is the plan, Ajax? What are you two doing?"
"You don't know Gabriella as well as I do," Ajax said, his voice dropping to a cold, hard tone. "I've been with her since the day this revenge started. I believe in her. I know she would never betray us."
"Ajax! Wait—"
Click.
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The Royal Hotel Rooftop was a battlefield of shadows and cold wind. Far below, the city lights twinkled like fallen stars, but up here, the air was thick with the scent of rain and old wounds.
Gabriella stood like a dark angel in her dark silk gown, the wind whipping her hair across her face. Opposite her stood Raina, her cream engagement dress now looking like a shroud. Their eyes locked—two mirrors of vengeance, one fueled by truth, the other by a lie.
"You're right," Gabriella said, her voice a chilling breeze. "I can't hurt the person I loved. But you? You're a different story."
Raina scoffed, but Gabriella's phone buzzed. A message from Ajax: I've bought us time, but I can't hold them anymore. Jake is coming up the stairs. The lift is fixed. Felix is on his way.
Gabriella's eyes flickered with a hint of tension, but she didn't move. She looked at Raina, her voice dropping into a hollow, aching tone. "Do you have any regret... that you killed Kevin?"
Raina's eyes softened for a split second before she snapped. "No!" she shouted, turning away to hide the tremor in her breath.
Gabriella tapped the AirPod in her ear. "Tell me," she whispered. On the other end, Dona spoke quickly. Gabriella's face went stone-cold. "What? Send it to Raina's phone. Now."
The call ended. Gabriella stepped toward Raina, her heels clicking like a countdown on the concrete. "Are you sure he betrayed you, Raina?"
"Yes!" Raina spat. "He was a snake!"
"No," Gabriella countered, her voice sharp as a blade. "He collected evidence against you... but not to destroy you. He wanted to change you. He loved you, Raina, but he hated the bully you had become. He was heartbroken when he saw the 'Devil Raina' come out. He was going to use that evidence to blackmail you into being a better person. To save you from yourself."
Raina chuckled darkly. "He threatened me, how can a lover do that?"
"Look at your phone," Gabriella said, her voice dripping with painful pity. "See the truth for yourself."
Raina's phone chimed. She looked down at screenshots of Kevin's digital diary. As she read, her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the cold rooftop floor.
"...I will fulfill her wish. She wants a house by the beach. I'll give her the world..."
Raina flashed back to the night she sneaked into Kevin's room When she went to his house, reading those same lines on his PC. But she had stopped there. She hadn't read the rest. Now, her eyes blurred with tears as she read the hidden pages:
"...She is bold and beautiful, but she has a darkness. She bullies others, with her friends. I saw it with my own eyes. My angel turns into a devil. As her lover, I have to stop her. Even if she hates me, I will collect evidence. I'll threaten to go to the police—not to ruin her, but to force her to leave that path. I won't ever actually give it to them. I'll destroy it once she changes. I'm sorry, Raina. I have no other choice because I love you too much to let you ruin your future."
Raina let out a broken sob, the phone slipping from her trembling fingers. "It's my fault," she whispered into the wind. "I misinterpreted him... he wanted to save me."
Gabriella looked down at her, her face a mask of cold iron. "I know he broke you. But his heart was pure. You were lucky to have him, and you destroyed your own happiness by killed him."
Raina looked up, her face stained with mascara and regret. "What should I do? Gabriella..."
Gabriella leaned down, her lips brushing Raina's ear, her voice a deadly, quiet command.
"Do exactly what I say... if you want to pay for your sins."
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The atmosphere in the Engagement Hall shifted from celebration to a funeral in a heartbeat. The scent of expensive lilies suddenly felt suffocating.
One by one, phones began to chime. The sound was like a digital wave of destruction. A guest rushed to Bianca, shoving a screen in her face. Bianca's eyes widened, her face turning the color of ash as she gripped her crimson dress. Nearby, Nancy's husband showed his phone to Nancy. She gasped, nearly dropping her three-year-old child in shock.
"OMG..." the whisper rippled through the room.
Lara, heart racing, snatched her phone. A viral article was exploding across every social media platform, headlined by a grainy, chilling video. In it, Raina's own voice confessed to the crime: she had killed Kevin. A year ago, the world thought it was a tragic accident. Now, the world knew she was a murderer.
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In the hallway, the elevator dinged. Felix stepped out, his cold composure finally shattering as his phone beeped. He looked at the screen, and for the first time, the "perfect" fiancé looked terrified. His grip on his phone tightened until his knuckles turned white. The empire he was marrying into was turning to dust.
The Final Stand: TheRooftop
Up on the rooftop, the wind was howling, tugging at the white silk of Raina's engagement gown. She sat on the cold concrete, a broken shell of a girl, her face ruined by tears and the weight of Kevin's digital diary.
The heavy door burst open. Jake stumbled out, his chest heaving. He saw Raina—shattered and silent. But before he could take a single step toward her, a shadow moved from behind the water tank.
"You're late, Jake."
Jake froze. Gabriella stepped into the moonlight. She was breathtaking and terrifying. Her floor-length black gown shimmered like oil on water, and the large ruby pendant around her neck glowed like a drop of fresh blood. Her eyes weren't filled with the girl he used to know; they were filled with a year's worth of cold, calculated vengeance.
Gabriella walked right up to him, her perfume—a mix of vanilla and smoke—filling his senses. She leaned in, her lips almost touching his ear.
"Do you really think you could stop me?" she whispered, her voice a deadly silk.
She pulled back, looking him straight in the eyes. Her face was a mask of victory. Jake's eyes were devoid of emotion, but Gabriella scoffed in a flash of hidden pain.
"You snatched every physical piece of evidence I ever collected," she said, her voice trembling with the ghost of the love she once had for him. "You tried to bury the truth to protect your friend, Raina. But look at me..."
She leaned in closer, a slow, dark smirk spreading across her lips.
"I still won. The video is global, Jake. There's no deleting this."
Jake's eyes narrowed as his brain raced to find a way out. Then, a look of pure horror dawned on his face as he realized exactly how she had played them all.
Gabriella's smirk deepened. "I won, Jake. And I proved it...how far I can go for my friend."
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Tobe Continued.....
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