Alina's POV

Chapter 1

Alina's POV

“Where the hell am I?” I struggled, the blindfold around my eyes stopped me from seeing anything

“Someone help me.” I cried out but I heard no response, all I heard were the echoes of my voice.

I lay motionless on a damp stone floor, my body trembling with weakness and pain. The cold from the dungeon-like room seeped into my bones, yet it was nothing compared to the hollow ache inside my chest.

Blood pooled beneath me, the once steady rhythm of my heartbeat slowing, each pulse weaker than the last. I could barely lift my head, but I didn't need to. 

As the piece of cloth was removed from my face. I was shocked to see the man standing in front of me.

“Viktor?” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He stood before me, his expression devoid of any warmth, any trace of the affection he once pretended to have.

“You must be surprised to see yourself tied up and I am standing here, doing nothing to save you.” 

I shrugged, my gaze drifted to his face, silently pleading for something, anything that might prove this was all just a cruel nightmare. 

“What's going on here? Why are you doing this to me? 

He didn't respond, instead his gaze swiftly shifted to the figure entering the room. I was more shocked to see Mira, my best friend.

She strode to Victor's side, accepting a kiss from him, a passionate one, right in front of me.

Mira pulled away gently, her gaze on me and a sly smile on her lips. “Read the room, Alina.” She paused, caressing victor's shoulder gently. “Viktor here never loved you and as for me, I hated you from the very beginning.”

The harsh reality settled in like the heavy chains around my wrists. Viktor was not the man I thought he was. He never had been.

Memories flooded my mind in broken, agonizing fragments. Their first meeting, a chance encounter in the gardens of my family estate. 

Viktor had been charming, disarming even. He knew exactly what to say, how to touch my hand just enough to send shivers down my spine. He made me believe in love, in fate, in him.

I had been so blind.

I stammered, my emotions crumbling. “You… you both have been deceiving me all this while. After everything I did for two.” I said, shedding painful tears.

But Mira’s laughter echoed in her ears, and Alina’s stomach churned at the memory. My best friend. My confidante. The one I had trusted above all else.

It was Mira who whispered in my ear, feeding the doubts about my family, urging me to trust Viktor, to give up everything for love. And I listened. I had turned her back on the people who had raised me, all for a man who saw me as nothing more than a tool.

A pawn in their twisted game.

A soft, mocking voice pulled me from my thoughts. "You always were so naive, Alina," Mira purred, stepping closer, her silk dress rustling against the stone floor. Her smirk was a mask of triumph, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

 "Did you really think you could be part of something greater? That Viktor would ever love a fool like you?"

My fingers curled weakly into a fist, my nails biting into my palm. I wanted to scream, to fight back, but my body no longer listened to my desperate will.

Viktor’s cold gaze remained locked onto her, unreadable, distant. "You were useful," he said, his voice devoid of the tenderness it once held. "But you've outlived that usefulness."

I wanted to beg, to ask him why, why he had to be the one to betray her so completely. But deep down, I already knew the answer. I had learned the truth too late.

Viktor had never loved me. He had wanted power. Control. And now, the unborn child within me, the one I had secretly cherished, was a threat to everything he had built.

Tears slipped from my eyes, mixing with the dirt and blood on her cheeks. My thought of the life that could have been, the moments I would never have. The lullabies I would never sing. The soft whispers of love I would never share with her child.

"I loved you," I whispered, my voice broken, the weight of his betrayal crushing me.

Viktor didn't even flinch. "Love," he said, almost mockingly. "Such a foolish thing."

Mira chuckled, crouching beside me, my fingers tracing over the fabric of Alina’s torn dress as if savoring the destruction she had caused. "Goodbye, Alina," she whispered, her voice laced with cruel satisfaction.

Viktor snapped his finger and in a short moment, his underlings who had probably kidnapped me came to his call.

“Turn on the heat machine.” Viktor ordered. 

“No Viktor, Please. You can burn me alive. Not while I'm carrying your child.”

Mira and Viktor looked at each other, their faces shocked for a moment but then suddenly they bursted into a hard laugh, their laughter echoed across the room, infuriating me the most.

“My child or not, I will not let you live for another day.” Viktor said, there was no trace of sympathy in his voice.

“You fucking bastard. How can you kill your unborn child, all because of this snake.” I bit back in anger but the next thing I know, Mira's hands met my cheek with a resounding slap, leaving my hair messed up on my sweaty face.

“You bitch! Who the hell are you calling a snake?” Mira shouted, about to hit me again but Viktor stopped her.

“Leave her alone, she's going to burn to death anyways.”he reminded her, reminding of my fear again.

Mira smiled. “That's right. Burn in hell, bestfriend.”

The last thing Alina saw was Viktor turning away, his silhouette disappearing into the shadows without a second glance. The door creaked shut behind him, leaving me alone in the suffocating darkness.

As my vision blurred, and the pain dulled into an eerie numbness, I thought of the one thing they could never take from me, my love. It had been real, even if it had been one-sided. And perhaps, in some way, that was enough.

My eyes fluttered closed, a final tear slipping down her face. And with it, everything faded to black.