Sam's footsteps were hollow as he walked aimlessly through the dimly lit campus. The night air felt colder than usual, but he barely registered it. His hands were numb, his breath shallow. Every word Kate had spoken echoed in his skull like a cruel mantra, refusing to let him go.
**"He's an asshole. I use him."**
A fresh wave of nausea churned in his stomach.
**"He's not my type—some timid, boring loser."**
His vision blurred, but not from tears. No, he felt too empty to cry. His mind played back every moment he had shared with her. The laughter, the stolen glances, the way she'd held his hand like he was the most precious thing in the world.
**All of it was a lie.**
A cruel, twisted illusion he had clung to like a fool.
His knees buckled slightly as he reached a bench near the campus garden. He sat down heavily, burying his face in his hands. His chest felt constricted, like a vice was crushing his ribs.
**Why him? Why had she done this to him?**
He had given her everything—his time, his heart, his love. And she had used him, played with him, laughed at his expense. The realization was suffocating.
He wanted to scream, to lash out, to punch something until his knuckles bled. But all he did was sit there, frozen in place, as the world around him continued on like nothing had happened.
Minutes blurred into an eternity. The weight of the betrayal settled over him like an unbearable shroud, pressing down harder with every breath.
**He was nothing to her.**
A disposable tool. A pet. A joke.
His stomach twisted violently, and he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, struggling to hold himself together. He couldn't go back to his dorm, couldn't face anyone. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Just as his mind teetered on the edge of oblivion, his phone buzzed in his pocket. For a moment, he didn't move, half-expecting another cruel text from Kate, rubbing more salt into his wounds. But when he pulled it out, he saw a different name flash across the screen.
**Ryan.**
A deep rage bubbled within him, slow and burning. His fingers curled around the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He didn't answer.
The screen lit up again. Another message.
*"Hey man, just checking in. You good?"*
Sam nearly laughed, but the sound that escaped his lips was hollow, bitter. **Good?**
He wanted to smash his phone against the pavement. But instead, he exhaled sharply, shoving it back into his pocket.
Ryan wanted to check on him? Why? To see if the pathetic fool had taken the bait? To make sure he was still too weak to fight back?
**I won't give them the satisfaction.**
He rose to his feet, his expression unreadable. The pain was still there, raw and bleeding, but beneath it, something else stirred.
Something cold.
Something dark.
He had been a fool. He had trusted too easily, loved too blindly. He had been played like a pawn in their sick little game. But that game was over now.
And they had no idea what they had just created.
He wandered through the campus, his thoughts a swirling storm of agony and anger. Every step felt like dragging dead weight, but he kept moving. He didn't know where he was going—he just knew he couldn't stop.
His mind refused to quiet. He remembered the nights spent talking with Kate, the way she looked at him under the stars, the way she had whispered his name like he meant something to her. The way she had pulled him into her arms when he was upset, telling him he was enough.
**Lies. All of it.**
He walked until he found himself near the edge of campus, by the lake where he and Kate had once sat for hours, dreaming of the future. The place that had once felt sacred now felt tainted, a crime scene of his own stupidity.
A cold breeze rippled across the water, sending shivers down his spine. He clenched his fists, trying to push away the crushing weight of betrayal.
How long had she been using him? Had she ever loved him at all? Had every moment they shared been just another manipulation, another game she played for her own amusement?
His stomach turned at the thought.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He had been her puppet, dancing on her strings while she laughed with Ryan behind his back.
His phone vibrated again, this time a new message from Kate.
*"Hey babe, you asleep? I miss you."*
Rage boiled inside him. He nearly threw the phone into the lake, but something inside him told him to stop. He stared at the screen, his fingers tightening around the device.
She had no idea he knew.
She was still playing her role, still acting like the perfect girlfriend. And for the first time in his life, Sam felt something foreign stir inside him—something **dangerous.**
He didn't reply. Instead, he let the phone drop to his side and turned away from the lake, his mind made up.
This wasn't the end.
He wouldn't let it be.