Chapter 3 No.3

Ellie POV:

I woke with a gasp, the last tendrils of a nightmare still clinging to me. Damon wasn't beside me. My heart lurched, a familiar, sickening dread washing over me. It was 3 AM. He was gone again.

My fingers, numb with fear, navigated to "The Den." The site loaded quickly, a black hole of depravity. And there he was. The wolf. And beside him, the rabbit. The same rabbit from before.

This time, my eyes scanned for the scar, that distinguishing mark. And there it was, faint but undeniable, a white line against the pale skin of his lower back, just visible above the waistband of his mask. My breath caught in my throat. There was no denying it now. No self-deception left to cling to. It was Damon.

My gaze flickered to the chat, the comments scrolling rapidly. "Look at those two! So hot together," one read. Another: "They've been at it for months, haven't they? The best show on The Den!" Months. Not a fling. Not a mistake. A long-standing affair.

Then, a voice. Her voice. The rabbit-masked woman. "God, Damon," she purred, her tone laced with a familiar whine. "That scar is always in the way."

My world tilted. That voice. The way she said "Damon." The way she whined. It was Katina. My best friend. My maid of honor. The woman I had just confessed my suspicions to.

The floor felt as if it had dropped out from under me. A piercing scream was trapped in my throat, vibrating against my vocal cords, but no sound escaped. It was impossible. Katina, my Katina, who had been my shadow, my confidante since we were five years old? The girl who knew all my secrets, who had cried with me over scraped knees and broken hearts? The one I trusted implicitly?

I remembered her "shock" when I told her I suspected Damon. Her "concern." Her casual mention of the "surprise housewarming gift." The words echoed in my head, mocking me. The housewarming gift was our marital home, the one Damon and I had picked out together. The one they were desecrating.

My childhood, my past, my present-all of it felt like a fragile porcelain doll smashed into a million pieces. The air thickened, pressing down on me, making it impossible to breathe. I clutched at my chest, a desperate, animalistic cry tearing through my silence.

Brrrring! Brrrring! My phone, forgotten on the nightstand, vibrated. It was Damon. My hand shot out, knocking it to the floor. The sound of his ringtone filled the bedroom, then abruptly stopped.

On the screen, the wolf and the rabbit continued their dance, oblivious. The chat scrolled on, a constant stream of adoration for the duo. "Best couple on The Den!" "They have such chemistry!"

My eyes burned, but no tears came. It was beyond tears. It was a cold, hollow ache that spread through my entire being. My body felt heavy, disconnected. I was a puppet, and my strings had been cut.

I knew with chilling clarity what I had to do. The pain was unbearable, but a steel resolve hardened within me. There was no going back. There was no forgiving this.

I found my phone, the screen cracked from the fall. I opened my banking app, then searched for "private investigator." A quick call, a brief explanation-enough to get him started. His name was Mr. Black. He promised discretion. And speed.

Then, I opened my personal email. I drafted a message to a mentor in Seattle, an acclaimed interior designer I'd always admired. "Interested in a partnership... relocating... new opportunities." It was a shot in the dark, a desperate lunge towards a future that was suddenly utterly blank.

The sun was just beginning to paint the sky when Damon finally returned. He smelled faintly of Katina's cheap perfume, masked by a stronger cologne. He moved silently, carefully, as if not to wake me. Or perhaps, as if not to disturb the fragile illusion he had built.

He slipped into bed, his body warm against mine. He spooned me, a familiar comfort that now felt like a viper's embrace. "Everything okay, angel?" he murmured, his voice thick with sleep, or feigned innocence.

I lay still, my heart a stone in my chest. The "why" still echoed, but now it was joined by a new, more potent emotion: absolute, searing rage. I closed my eyes, picturing the wolf and the rabbit. Katina. Damon. They had orchestrated this. They had tried to destroy me. But they wouldn't. Not anymore. The game had just begun.