Chapter 104 104

Chapter 104 104
~ARLINA~

"Yes."

Nessa's voice rang out loud and clear. "I'd love to be your girlfriend."

The room exploded with cheers and whistles. People clapped like this was some romantic movie moment instead of the destruction of everything I thought was real.

Zayne grinned and pulled her close. Their lips met and the bond in my chest cracked so violently I gasped.

No one heard me over the noise.

Nessa's eyes opened during the kiss. She looked directly at me over Zayne's shoulder.

And smiled.

Not the sweet, friendly smile she'd been wearing for weeks. This one was cold and sharp, like a knife sliding between ribs.

She'd planned this. All of it. The timing, the public venue, making sure I'd be here to watch.

They separated and Zayne said something to the crowd that made everyone laugh. I couldn't hear it over the ringing in my ears.

Nessa whispered in his ear. He nodded and she stepped off the stage, walking straight toward me.

"Selene, we need to leave," I managed. "Now."

"I'm trying—there's too many people—"

Nessa reached me before we could move. Up close, her smile was even crueler.

"Arlina," she said pleasantly, like we were old friends. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Move."

"Did you really think he'd choose you?" She tilted her head. "Damaged, broken, traumatized you?"

"Get out of my way."

"You're weak. A victim who can't stop being a victim. Always needing rescue, always falling apart." She leaned closer. "Do you know what he told me about you? How exhausting it is, dealing with your paranoia and your nightmares and your constant need for reassurance?"

Each word was like a stab to my chest. "Stop."

"He said being with you feels like work. That you're too much effort for what you give back." Nessa's voice stayed sweet and conversational, like she was not spitting venom. "But me? I'm easy. Uncomplicated. Everything he actually wants."

The bond was screaming. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to hold the pieces together.

"That's not true—"

"Isn't it? Look at him." She gestured toward the stage where Zayne was laughing with friends. "Does he look like he's missing you? Does he look like he cares that you're here watching your world end?"

He didn't. He looked happy and relaxed. More at ease than I'd seen him in weeks.

"The mate bond—"

"Is nothing compared to actual compatibility. You two were forced together by biology. But what we have?" Nessa's smile widened. "That's real. That's choice."

"You're lying—"

"Am I? Because last time I checked, I'm the one he just asked to be his girlfriend. I'm the one he kissed in front of everyone." She stepped closer, her voice dropping. "You're the one standing here alone in a dress he doesn't even notice, wearing jewelry he probably doesn't remember giving you."

I couldn't breathe. The room was too hot and crowded.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he didn't want. I just gave him permission to admit what he already knew…that you're not enough. You've never been enough." Nessa's eyes glittered. "He deserves better than a broken hybrid playing at being normal."

Something inside me shattered.

I shoved past her, not caring who I knocked into. Selene called my name but I couldn't stop.

The exit. I needed the exit.

People were everywhere, blocking my path, celebrating, completely unaware that I was drowning in the middle of their party.

"Excuse me—sorry—move—"

My voice came out choked. Tears were already falling.

Someone grabbed my arm. I yanked free without looking.

"Arlina!" Zayne's voice. "Wait—"

I ran.

Through the crowd, past the decorations, toward the double doors that led outside.

Behind me, I heard Nessa's voice. "Let her go, baby. She just needs some space."

Baby. She called him baby.

The doors burst open and I stumbled into the parking lot. Cold air hit my face but I couldn't feel it over the burning in my chest.

The bond was dying. I could feel it.

This wasn't possible. Mate bonds didn't break. They were permanent, unbreakable and sacred.

But mine was disintegrating while my mate stood inside with another girl.

I made it to the far side of the lot before my legs gave out. Gravel bit into my knees through the dress but I couldn't make myself stand.

Couldn't do anything except try to breathe through the pain of a bond tearing itself apart.

He'd chosen her.

After everything—the marking, the claiming, the promises, he'd chosen someone else.

And he'd done it publicly. Deliberately. Made sure everyone saw him pick Nessa over me.

The humiliation was almost worse than the heartbreak.

No. That was a lie. Nothing was worse than the heartbreak.

I pressed both hands to my chest, trying to hold myself together. But the bond kept breaking, kept pulling pieces of me with it.

How long could I survive this? How long before the severed mate bond killed me?

Footsteps on the gravel made me look up.

"Go away."

"Not a chance." Selene dropped to her knees beside me. "Come on, let's get you up—"

"I can't. I can't move. I can't—" A sob cut off the words.

She wrapped her arms around me and I collapsed against her.

Inside, the party continued. Music thumping, people laughing, celebrating Zayne and Nessa's new relationship.

While I fell apart in a parking lot, the mate bond dying, everything I'd believed about us dissolving into nothing.

"This doesn't make sense," Selene was saying. "Mate bonds don't work this way. He can't just—you can't just choose someone else—"

"He did. You saw it."

"But it's impossible. The bond is biological, chemical, permanent. You can't override it with—with what? A pretty face and study sessions?"

"Nessa said—" I couldn't finish. Couldn't repeat the things she'd said about me being broken and weak and not enough.

"Whatever she said was a lie. Zayne loves you. I've seen it. Everyone's seen it."

"Then why did he kiss her? Why did he ask her to be his girlfriend in front of everyone?"

Selene didn't answer. She just held me tighter.

"Something is wrong," she said finally. "This isn't normal. Mates don't just—people don't just stop loving their mates because someone new shows up."

"Maybe they do. Maybe the bond isn't as permanent as everyone thinks."

"No. I refuse to believe that. There has to be another explanation."

But what explanation could there be? I'd watched him kiss Nessa. Felt his happiness through the dying bond.

He'd made his choice. And it wasn't me.