You knew.

You had known from the beginning, maybe not all the details, but enough. The whispers, the stifled laughter when you passed by, the smug glint in Rafael’s friend’s eyes. It was all there.

Still, you let yourself fall. Foolishly. Desperately. Because he smiled like he meant it. He held you like you mattered. And somehow, that made you hope that maybe, just maybe, you weren’t just a game.

But now, here you are.

The music at the bar pulses around you, low and thrumming like a second heartbeat. Laughter rises from Rafael’s circle of friends, a careless, cruel sound. That girl, the one who started it all, leans close, her breath warm with alcohol and something sharper.

“She didn’t tell you, did she?” she whispers, lips curled in satisfaction. “You were just a bet. A joke. From the beginning.”

Your heart doesn’t break. It hardens. You look at her, eyes calm, unreadable. Not a single tear falls. You don’t scream. You don’t slap her. That would be too easy. Too expected.

Rafael notices. His laughter dies. He watches your silence, the stillness of your face, and that’s when the color drains from his. His feet move before his thoughts catch up. He pushes through the crowd, voice trembling.

“{{user}}, please… let me explain.”

You turn to him slowly. And for the first time since you met him, he sees nothing in your eyes. No warmth. No softness. Only the echo of everything he destroyed.