Chapter 1 The unholy encounter

Elina POV

I never imagined betrayal could feel like this.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my arms wrapped tightly around my knees, staring at the dim light filtering through my window blinds.

The room felt suffocating, thick with silence and shadows. My phone lay beside me, its screen still glowing with the message that had shattered my entire world.

"I didn't mean for you to find out this way."

Daniel's words burned into my mind like poison. Three years. Three whole years of my life... wasted. Every promise, every whispered secret, every night I fell asleep believing he was mine - it had all been a lie. And it wasn't just anyone. No, that would've been easier to stomach.

It was her.

Jasmine.

The very same girl who made my high school years a nightmare. The girl who mocked my clothes, spread rumors about me in the locker room, and made me feel like the ugliest, smallest thing walking those halls. And somehow, she had slithered into my life again, this time stealing the person I loved most.

I let out a choked, broken sound. I wasn't even sure if it was a sob or a gasp for air. My chest ached in a way I couldn't describe, like someone had reached inside me and twisted my heart until it tore apart.

How could he?

A knock on my door made me flinch. I didn't answer. I didn't want anyone to see me like this - pathetic, heartbroken, and barely holding on.

"Elina?" came Mia's gentle voice.

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Go away," I croaked, my voice cracked and raw.

But the door creaked open anyway, and I felt the mattress dip as Mia sat beside me. I couldn't even look at her. I didn't want to see pity in her eyes.

"Elina..." she sighed softly, placing a hand on my back. "I know you're hurting. I wish I could take it away for you. But... you can't stay locked up like this."

I stayed silent, tears slipping down my cheeks, one after the other.

Mia's voice brightened, trying to pull me out of my storm. "Listen - my sister's getting married. In Vegas. A beachside wedding. Waves, music, drinks, no Jasmine, no Daniel... no memories. Just you and me."

I shook my head, my throat tight. "I... I can't. I don't want to see people. I don't want to pretend I'm okay."

"You don't have to pretend," she whispered, turning me so I was forced to face her. Her eyes weren't filled with pity. They held something else - a quiet kind of understanding. "Come with me. You don't have to talk, you don't have to smile. Hell, you can cry in the car the whole way there. But just... be somewhere else for a little while."

I stared at her, my chest aching, my heart still in pieces. And yet... a part of me, some small, broken fragment, wanted to believe there could be a moment of quiet somewhere away from this suffocating room. Away from this town where everything reminded me of him.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. "Okay."

Mia's face lit up with relief, and she pulled me into a tight hug. For the first time in days, I felt a flicker of warmth.

"I'll pack your things," she said, pulling away. "We leave in an hour."

And as the door closed behind her, I exhaled a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. The pain was still there, sharp and cruel. But for the first time, there was a distant promise of something else too.

Escape.

Even if only for a while.

.

.

.

.

*At the wedding*

The salty wind hit my face as we stepped onto the beach, the sun already beginning its descent, casting the sky in warm shades of orange and pink. Waves crashed against the shore in steady rhythms, and the air smelled of sea, sand, and the faint sweetness of wedding flowers.

Mia's sister looked radiant in her white lace dress, her hair pinned up with soft curls falling to her shoulders. Everyone was smiling, laughing, clinking glasses. It was beautiful. It should've made me feel something.

But inside, I was numb.

I held the glass of whatever cocktail Mia had shoved into my hand, barely tasting it as I downed it in one long gulp. The burn was sharp, but welcome. I grabbed another.

And another.

I wasn't counting anymore.

I just wanted the ache in my chest to blur, to drown out the memories of Daniel's hands in mine, his voice in my ear, his lies threading through the years like poisoned threads.

I must've looked a mess, barefoot in the sand, my dress slightly wrinkled from sitting too long, hair tousled by the wind. But I didn't care. I wasn't here to be seen. I wasn't here to laugh or catch the bouquet. I was here to forget.

Somewhere between my third and fourth drink, the music softened and the crowd thinned near the shoreline. I wandered closer to the water's edge, the sand cool beneath my feet. The ocean stretched endlessly ahead, waves glowing under the dying sun.

I stopped walking and stared out at the horizon, my eyes stinging.

Why?

Why did he do it?

Why her, of all people?

A sharp, painful lump rose in my throat. I bit my lip hard, trying to swallow it down, but the tears blurred my vision anyway. I hated how fragile I felt. How easily broken I was. I used to be tougher than this... didn't I?

I turned my face to the wind, hoping it would dry my eyes before anyone saw.

"Funny thing about the ocean... people come here hoping it'll wash their sins away. Or at least drown what's breaking them. Which one are you...?"

I froze.

I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the ache in my heart, but for a moment I thought I'd imagined it.

And there he was.

A man leaning against a tall palm tree a few steps away, a man watched me with a quiet, curious expression.

I blinked up at him through the haze of tears and alcohol, my head swimming a little. My lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.

God... he was gorgeous.

Up close, he was even more dangerously good-looking than I first thought. Strong jaw, a faint shadow of stubble, those gray eyes like the storm before rain, and a mouth that looked like it never smiled for no reason. The kind of man you didn't meet at beachside weddings. The kind of man you met in stories - or trouble.

I swallowed, my voice faint. "I wasn't trying to drown."

He gave a small smile, "But you looked like you wanted to disappear."

I bit my lip, "Maybe I did."

There was a pause - not awkward, but heavy. Then he spoke, low and unhurried.

"Don't. No one gets to take you out of this world but you. And trust me... this world would miss a face like yours."

I glanced up sharply, caught off guard by the words. Not because it was a line - God knows I'd heard plenty of clumsy ones in my life. But the way he said it... like it wasn't about my face at all.

I managed a weak, crooked smile.

"Are you always this dramatic with drunk strangers on the beach?"

His grin deepened, and something in his gaze darkened, like he wasn't a stranger to this kind of sadness.

"Only the beautiful ones."

I don't know what came over me.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the way he looked at me - like he saw all the broken pieces and didn't flinch. Or maybe I was just so tired of hurting I needed something, someone, to burn the ache away.

Before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out of my mouth.

"Do you... wanna sleep with me?"