Mei Lin woke up in a daze, her eyes fluttering open as if waking from a fever dream.
She blinked slowly, her vision blurred, her thoughts sluggish. Confusion clouded her mind as she looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. This wasn't her room.
She was in a luxury hotel suite, elegant and opulent, but foreign. Velvet curtains framed floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city skyline. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling above, casting cold light on the polished marble floor. The king-sized bed she lay in was too pristine, too unfamiliar. A vase of fresh lilies sat on the nearby nightstand, their sweet scent mocking the horror that gripped her chest.
Everything looked perfect, except her.
Her body ached in places that made her stomach churn. She tried to move, but a bolt of pain shot through her lower body, making her flinch violently.
Her private parts throbbed with a deep, aching soreness that made her breath hitch. It was the kind of pain that told her something terrible had happened.
She froze.
That wasn't a dream… was it?
Trembling, she reached for the blanket and slowly pulled it down. Her heart cracked open.
She was completely naked.
Her skin was littered with hickeys, dark, ugly reminders of what had been done to her. The sheets beneath her were stained with smears of drying blood, stark against the white linen. A brutal, undeniable sign of what she had lost. Of the innocence she had preserved her entire life. The innocence she had promised to save until her wedding night.
And now it was gone.
Tears welled up in her eyes as the memories began to return, scattered at first, then sharp, like broken glass.
It had all started at the party.
He had handed her a glass of wine. She had told him again and again that she didn't drink. He knew that. He always knew. But last night, he smiled at her, surrounded by his colleagues and business partners, and whispered:
"Just for me. Please… just give me some face."
She didn't want to disappoint him. Not in front of all those people. So she gave in. She took the glass.
She didn't know it had been spiked.
Soon, her vision blurred. Her body grew hot, her skin flushed. She felt dizzy, her balance gone, her thoughts spinning out of control. Everything felt wrong. The room tilted, her legs trembled, and her heart pounded like a drum in her chest.
She had never handled alcohol well, even a single sip could knock her off balance. But this? This was different. Something else was inside her now, something that made her feel like she was losing herself completely.
She remembered grabbing his arm, begging him to help her.
But he hadn't stayed. He hadn't comforted her. He just walked her into a room, this room, and left.
She had pleaded with him, begged him not to go. Her voice shook, her legs wobbled. But he looked annoyed. Agitated. Like she was an inconvenience.
And then he disappeared.
Sometime later, the door creaked open again. A fat, middle-aged man entered, reeking of cologne and alcohol. His eyes leered over her limp body like she was property.
He touched her.
Even though her body was failing her, she tried to resist. She used whatever strength she had left to push him away, her voice breaking as she begged him to stop. But her limbs were heavy, useless. Her body betrayed her.
The man grew impatient. Angry.
And then he slapped her hard.
Everything went dark after that.
When she opened her eyes again, morning had come, and he was gone.
They were both gone.
No old man. No boyfriend.
Just her. And the wreckage they left behind.
She turned her head to the side and stared at the empty space beside her, hoping, praying that he would be there.
But he wasn't.
Only silence remained.
The weight of misplaced hope can break more than just a heart, it can shatter a future.
Expectations from the wrong person don't just hurt. They imprison you. Delay you. Destroy you.
Her boyfriend, the man she had trusted with her entire life had sold her to another man.
But why?
Did it even matter?
The damage had already been done. Her body was broken. Her innocence stolen. Her trust annihilated.
Tears began to slide down her cheeks, soft at first, then unstoppable.
She had given him everything.
Not just time or love, but trust. Faith. Her entire future.
Even the inheritance her father left her, the money she swore she'd use for her dreams, she had handed over to him. For his company. For his success.
Because she believed that if he succeeded… they would succeed.
But even that hadn't been enough for him.
He wanted more.
So he sold her.
Since high school, from the very first moment they got together, Mei Lin had only ever loved him. She had never once strayed, never once entertained anyone else, not even when others came with promises and admiration. Her heart had belonged to him.
She had respected herself. She had respected him.
And in return, he had destroyed her.
Sometimes, the one you love the most becomes the one who wounds you the deepest.
The hands once trusted to hold your heart gently become the ones that crush it.
Promises turn into shackles.
Hope becomes betrayal.
It's cruel how the person who once felt like home becomes the reason you can no longer sleep at night.
Not by accident.
But by choice.
The ultimate betrayal.
Mei Lin broke.
A raw, choking sob escaped her throat as she pulled the blood-stained sheets up to her chin. Her shoulders trembled. She curled into herself like a child trying to disappear.
Her tears came in waves now, silent, violent, unrelenting.
It wasn't just heartbreak.
It was devastation.
It was the sound of a soul unraveling.
In that cold, luxurious room that didn't belong to her, Mei Lin cried her heart out, every tear a silent scream for the girl she used to be.