For a long moment, I stood outside Room 1708, unable to move.
The world around me blurred into a distant hum.
The corridor lights seemed dimmer.
The carpet beneath my feet suddenly felt unstable.
Inside the room, I could still hear them.
Laughter.
Whispers.
The clink of glass.
Every sound felt like a knife sliding deeper into my chest.
I stared at the polished wooden door, the golden numbers '1708' shining under the warm hotel light.
My hand tightened around the delivery bag until the plastic handles bit into my skin.
No.
There had to be some mistake.
Maybe it was another Li Na.
Maybe it was another Zhao Wei.
Maybe exhaustion was making my mind hear things that weren't real.
But then her voice came again.
Clear.
Sweet.
Cruel.
"Do you really think he'll figure it out?"
My heartbeat stopped.
It was her.
There was no mistaking it.
Li Na.
The woman who had stood beside me through the darkest years of my life.
The woman who used to bring soup to the hospital when I was too busy to eat.
The woman who held Riya's hand on the first day of school.
The woman who had smiled at me and said,
"No matter how hard life gets, I'll stay with you."
And Zhao Wei…
My best friend since high school.
The one who stayed up with me during coding competitions.
The one who helped me move apartments.
The one who called me brother.
I felt something cold crawl through my veins.
I should have walked away.
I should have left the food at the door and never looked back.
But I couldn't.
My hand moved before my mind did.
Three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Silence.
The voices stopped.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
And the world shattered.
Li Na stood there.
Her long black hair fell over one shoulder, slightly messy.
She wore a silk robe loosely tied at the waist.
Her lipstick was smudged.
Behind her, seated casually on the edge of the bed with a glass of wine in his hand, was Zhao Wei.
Shirt half open.
A smile played at the corner of his lips.
For a second, none of us spoke.
Then Li Na's eyes widened.
"Arjun?"
Her voice carried surprise.
But not guilt.
That hurt more than anything.
I looked past her into the room.
Two glasses.
One bed.
One truth.
The delivery bag slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.
The smell of hot food spread across the corridor.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then, Zhao Wei stood up slowly.
His expression was unreadable.
"Brother…"
I laughed.
A dry, hollow sound.
"Don't call me that."
My voice was calm.
Too calm.
Because beneath that calm, something far darker was rising.
I looked at Li Na.
"Tell me I'm wrong."
She said nothing.
Her silence was the answer.
The air felt heavier.
The pendant against my chest had begun to grow warm again.
No.
Not warm.
Hot.
Like burning metal.
I ignored it.
Right now, the fire inside me is worse.
"How long?" I asked.
Li Na crossed her arms.
Her expression changed.
The softness vanished.
What remained was cold.
Detached.
Almost indifferent.
"Long enough."
The words hit harder than any blade.
My fingers curled into fists.
Zhao Wei stepped forward.
"Listen, Arjun, it's not what you think."
I looked at him and laughed again.
"Really?"
I pointed at the room.
"The wine."
"The bed."
"The half-open shirt."
"Then tell me what exactly I should think."
His jaw tightened.
Li Na sighed.
Almost annoyed.
That was the moment something inside me truly broke.
No apology.
No shame.
No regret.
Just irritation that they had been caught.
I stared at her.
"Why?"
For the first time, something flickered in her eyes.
Not guilt.
Pity.
That was worse.
"You were never going anywhere, Arjun."
Her voice was soft, almost mocking.
"You chained yourself to a hospital room and a broken life."
Each word landed like a hammer.
"I waited for years."
She took a step closer.
"But all you ever cared about was work, bills, and your sleeping family."
My breathing grew heavier.
"You knew why."
"I know," she said sharply.
"And I got tired of being second place."
Zhao Wei put a hand on her shoulder.
"Enough."
I looked at him.
"You too?"
His eyes hardened.
Then he spoke words I never imagined hearing.
"You were always better than me."
I blinked.
"What?"
He laughed bitterly.
"School."
"College."
"Hacking competitions."
"Work."
"You were always the genius."
His fist clenched around the wine glass.
"Do you know what it's like standing next to someone everyone worships?"
The pieces began falling into place.
Jealousy.
Resentment.
Poison hidden behind friendship.
I took a slow step forward.
"So this is what this is?"
His voice turned cold.
"No."
His eyes met mine.
"This is what it had to be."
The sentence made something in my chest tighten.
What did that mean?
Before I could ask, Li Na spoke.
"He was right about one thing."
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"You really never noticed anything."
My eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
For a brief moment, Zhao Wei and Li Na exchanged a look.
A silent understanding.
A hidden meaning.
Then Zhao Wei said quietly,
"Some betrayals are bigger than love."
My heart skipped.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The pendant burnt hotter.
Almost unbearably.
My instincts screamed.
But rage drowned everything else.
I lunged.
My fist shot toward Zhao Wei's face.
Years of suppressed exhaustion, pain, and heartbreak exploded in one moment.
But before my punch landed—
Something slammed into the back of my head.
A sharp, brutal pain burst through my skull.
My vision exploded into white.
I staggered forward.
The room tilted violently.
I turned.
Li Na stood there.
A heavy metal flask in her hand.
Her face was expressionless.
Blood trickled down the side of my face.
Warm.
Sticky.
For a second, I couldn't understand what had happened.
Then the first drop of blood slid down my neck and touched the pendant.
Everything changed.
The silver surface flashed.
A pulse of golden-red light burst from beneath my shirt.
The room trembled.
Li Na's face changed.
For the first time—
fear.
Zhao Wei stepped back.
"No… It's happening."
His voice was tense.
Li Na whispered,
"The blood awakened it…"
My eyes widened.
What?
The pendant grew scorching hot.
Light spread across my chest like living fire.
The room began to spin.
The air distorted.
Sounds twisted.
My knees buckled.
As I collapsed, I caught the last thing I ever expected to hear.
Li Na's cold voice.
"It worked."
Darkness swallowed everything.