Landon Hughes stumbled back two steps in disbelief, steadying himself against the wall.
He couldn't believe the woman he loved was this kind of person. He was desperate for an explanation, but Josie wouldn't even spare him a glance.
Josie Quinn turned to look at Cole, who was standing to the side.
The corner of his eye was slightly swollen, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.
He was an innocent party in this whole affair, forcibly dragged into her mess.
'If he gets killed because of this, if this future powerhouse loses his life, my guilt will be unbearable.'
"You should leave now."
Cole's sharp brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as he stared at Josie's face.
The woman who had just been flushed with passion beneath him now had all the color drained from the corners of her eyes, leaving only a cold indifference.
'This must be what it means to be heartless.'
He had wanted to tell her that he was a superpower user, too, and that he could protect her.
But Josie had already averted her gaze, as if she couldn't be bothered to spare him another look.
A self-mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips. 'After all, she didn't even know who I was before this.'
'Fair enough. This is the apocalypse; there's no need for us to get too involved.'
He turned and walked out of the room, one step at a time.
Landon Hughes had no intention of letting him go. Just as he moved to follow, Josie grabbed him.
"Wait."
Landon Hughes whipped his head around, his eyes a whirlwind of anger and pain. "Josie, haven't I been good to you? How could you fucking do this to me?"
"Landon Hughes, let's break up."
After she spoke, a dead silence fell over the room.
'To be fair, before Alice Sullivan came along, Landon Hughes had been a good boyfriend.'
'He would bring her heat packs and hot brown sugar water during her period. When she was in a bad mood, he would patiently coax her until she was happy again.'
'Thoughtful and gentle... They'd had a long honeymoon phase once.'
'That was why, in my past life, I had been so resentful. I had fought with him and competed with Alice Sullivan.'
'But the agony of being torn apart in that warehouse, of my flesh and blood flying everywhere... it had pulverized all my love and expectations for the man before me.'
Josie stared at him, her eyes perfectly calm.
Seeing her expression, Landon Hughes's heart suddenly clenched with panic.
"No, that can't be it. You love me too much. You could never betray me. You're just saying things out of anger. I know you are..."
He didn't seem to know whether he was trying to convince Josie or himself.
But Josie quickly shattered his self-delusion.
"I meant every word."
After a long moment, Landon Hughes suddenly let out a laugh. "You're breaking up with me for a piece of trash? Josie, do you have any idea what the world is like out there?"
Josie didn't answer, and fury blazed in Landon Hughes's eyes. "Is it because I protected you too well? Do you think you can leave me and still not go hungry or be bullied? Josie, don't be so naive! Without me, you'll just be a plaything!"
Landon Hughes thought these words would make Josie change her mind.
But instead, a cold glint flashed in her eyes. Her tone remained firm. "That's my choice to make."
"Fine. Great! Josie, don't you regret this."
Landon Hughes stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut with a loud BANG.
Alice Sullivan was waiting outside. When she saw him emerge, she softened her voice and placed a hand on his chest.
"Landon, don't be angry. A woman who would betray you isn't worth it. Only we, your childhood friends, will always have your back."
Landon Hughes, who had been enraged just a moment ago, clutched his head as a look of agony surfaced in his eyes.
He couldn't believe Josie would betray him, but what he had just witnessed, coupled with her own confession, left him no choice but to accept it.
"Why, though? Alice, Josie only ever had eyes for me. Why would she betray me?"
"Landon, that's just a good act she puts on for you. In reality, she's a total slut. It's better you found out sooner rather than later. You're a superpower user, and she's just a normal person. What can she do but drag you down?"
She opened her arms and hugged him. "The apocalypse is here, Landon. Me, Joel Joyce, and the others—we would never leave you or betray you..."
***
Over the next few days, Josie heard that Landon Hughes was searching the survivor camp for any trace of Cole.
She knew that if Cole wanted to live, he would have already found a way to leave the survivor camp.
'I have to find a chance to leave, too. Otherwise, once word gets out that Landon and I broke up, I'll become a plaything for the other superpower users.'
'My power is only for self-preservation; it can't actually harm another superpower user.'
'If I want revenge, I have to play the long game.'
Still, she couldn't stomach the thought of just leaving like this.
Before she left, she was going to make Alice Sullivan know what it felt like to be misunderstood with no way to explain herself.
Just as she was mulling over how to execute her plan, someone blocked her path around a corner.
"Josie, did you really betray Landon?"
Gordon Grant's eyes were sinister, his tone aggressive.
Josie stared at him for a moment, then the corner of her lip curled as her gaze swept languidly over him.
Her voice was tinged with mockery. "Why? To hear you talk, anyone would think I betrayed you, not Landon Hughes."
Gordon Grant's pupils contracted. As if a hidden nerve had been struck, his expression turned foul. He gritted his teeth. "Josie, you're courting death!"
"So, are you going to kill me, or…" Her gaze seemed casual as it roamed over his body. "...did you want to do something else first?"
Her beauty was undeniable; no man could remain entirely unaffected when she deliberately tried to seduce them.
Gordon Grant swallowed hard. "Are you serious?"
She leaned in, her red lips parting as her warm breath ghosted over the sensitive shell of his ear. "Take a guess..."
Gordon Grant's breathing grew ragged. His hands rose, itching to move, and reached for her slender waist.
A sardonic smile flashed across Josie's lips.
'Landon Hughes's so-called brothers were all a bunch of playboys. In college, they acted like his best friends to his face, but behind his back, their eyes were practically glued to me.'
'I was perfectly aware of how they coveted me.'
'I only held back because of their relationship with Landon.'
'Before the apocalypse, they at least had some restraint.'
'But after the apocalypse, when order collapsed and morality eroded, they fanned the flames of Alice Sullivan's arrogance, driving a wedge between me and Landon time and time again.'
'They figured that once I broke up with Landon, I'd become their plaything, just like any other woman.'
'That's why they were also to blame for my past life, when I was locked in that abandoned warehouse and devoured by zombies.'
"Josie, what exactly are you getting at?" Gordon Grant's voice grew noticeably more urgent.
"It means exactly what you think it means..."
She deliberately kept the atmosphere ambiguous, her fingertips tracing a barely-there line across Gordon Grant's chest...
'Inwardly, though, I felt nothing but disgust. Gordon Grant's power was mediocre at best. My own power barely stirred before settling back down.'
'If he were a little more powerful, maybe I'd have the energy to play along for a while longer.'
"What are you two doing?!" an angry shout echoed from nearby.