The knife of betrayal cut deep. It fucking hurts,

I feel as if I am walking in scorching sunlight in a desert.

The feeling when you have not hurt anywhere yet you feel numb,

You want to revert back in time and slap yourself for being so fucking dumb.

It wouldn't matter if he was an enemy from the start.

I thought of him as my friend,

Now, at this moment, I want my hands to make his life end.

The jeep parked in front of a large mansion, and Krystal opened the door and got out of the car, and opened the door on the opposite side for me and the zodiac girl, who was already sleeping, resting her head on my shoulder. I shifted slightly, holding her head in my palm, and picked her up in the bridal style, getting out of the jeep.

I felt eyes on me and I turned around to see Max was smiling at me with Sheshu around his neck and the Zodiac girl's assistant in his one arm.

"Let's go, can we?" Max said as he dragged the unconscious man with his arm towards the entrance door of the mansion.

I too started to follow him, but then I felt someone's hand tap on my back. I looked around to see Krystal was smiling warmly at me. The smile was way too different from her usual business smile. The smile seemed to bring a weird warmth that spread in my chest and her beautiful grey eyes were glowing at me, making me want to just keep staring at them and let myself drown in the beauty.

She snapped her fingers in front of my face and chuckled, making me huff in annoyance.

"What?" I asked rather harshly, but she still kept the beautiful smile on her, and she took some steps towards me closing the distance between as she leaned down, her hot breath fanned my ear pinna, making a weird shivering sensation run down my spine, "Thank you," her voice was soft and husky on which I gulped.

"I- Uhuh-" my brain was glitching unable to make the sentences, I wanted to apologize, I wanted to slap me, punch me, slit my throat, punish myself, I wanted to feel the pain, I was feeling miserable.

"Let's get you the evidence, shall we?" Krystal said smiling softly and If it's possible I felt even more bitter, then my eyes traveled from hers to her perfect plum lips which were a bit chapped yet looking soft then my eyes fell on her shoulder which was bleeding staining her shirt and my heart ached.

"Stop!" I yelled, more to the voices blaming me in my head, and the Zodiac girl groaned, still unconscious in my arms, and Krystal raised her brows at me.

"First you need to get fucking treated." I commanded though I was waiting for the evidence, but Jake's behavior was enough for me to get half of the story.

Krystal chuckled, "Okay- okay- we need to get treated first, as my princess says," I was really annoyed at myself, and the stupidly cute nickname was making me feel even more guilty at the very moment, Krystal was surely enjoying my annoyance, so I turned around and dashed towards the entrance.

Krystal shouted something behind me, but I ignored her, entering the enormous mansion. A woman who was wearing a professional suit greeted me by bowing in front of me, which surprised me.

"Miss- I will get her treated." She said, gesturing towards the zodiac girl, and I reluctantly nodded and handed the injured curly head to the woman.

She settled her in her arms and said, "Miss, you can rest in the hall or look around the building while the doctor checks Mistress and this girl up." I nodded, and she smiled.

I started walking inside the mansion, looking around at the sophisticated decorations and the paintings.

I walked and walked through the gallery, seeing the grey, white, and paintings and sketches hanging on the walls until one frame caught my eye.

The sketch was of two girls, ten and nine years of age. The younger one was kissing the cheek of the older, and the older one's hand was caressing the face of the other.

"You still have it," I whispered as my eyes started to water, staring at the sketch I had drawn.

{ "San! San! San" She nudged my arms, irritating me as I continued to sketch the punishments I drew for my father's altar.

Krystal was lying beside me, playing with my hair as I was sitting cross-legged in Indian style with a sketchbook in my hand.

"What?" I asked, scoffing, looking up at her, averting my gaze from my sketch pad, knowing that she would just continue to bug me until I responded.

She just ignored my tone as if she was used to it, which she really was. "San, you never drew anything else than- ummm, the justice-" she started awkwardly, stopping in the middle.

"Yes, I didn't," I answered and continued to draw.

"San! San! San! "

"What!" She always irritated me, but I couldn't imagine a single day without her bickering and senseless talks.

"Can you draw us?" She asked excitedly, sitting up beside me, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"No," I answered and immediately regretted it when hurt flashed on her face and she turned around and I bet that she was sulking.

"Ugh-" I placed the sketchpad on the bed and prepared myself to babysit a sixteen-year-old brat.

I tapped on her shoulder but she didn't turn around, making me sigh.

"Okay," I finally said, and she turned her face with a whip-like motion, beaming at me, and she launched herself on me.

"I love you" *kiss* "I love you" *kiss* "I love you" *kiss*- she placed wet sloppy kisses all over my face and I groaned in annoyance.

"Okay- Stop it you moron-" I groaned, wiping my cheeks with my shirt and she grinned at me.

"I have one more request-"

"Now what?"

"I want you to draw us together of that age when you realized you have feelings for me-"

"Who said I have feelings for you?" I rolled my eyes, and she smacked my head.

"Fuck off you bitch-"

"You love this bitch." I poked my tongue out of my mouth.

She sighed, "The thing is, I really do Princess-"}

I felt something hot and wet trailing down my cheeks and I wiped it with my hand, only to discover that the tears were starting to ooze out of my eyes.

I didn't deserve her friendship; I didn't deserve her trust; I didn't deserve her love-I should just-

"Ahem-" Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I immediately straightened my posture and tried to blank my emotions from my face as I turned around to see Max was watching me with pity in his eyes.

"Pumpkin is waiting for you-" he said, and I nodded, unable to meet his gaze.

"Where is Sheshu?" I asked, trying to keep up with the conversation as I followed behind him in the corridor.

"Well, don't worry about it, Sweetpea. I placed him in a comfortable cage in Kartos' room.

"Kartos?" I asked and Max stopped.

He turned his face in shock. "You forgot him?" He exclaimed and for a moment, my mind went blank.

Wait, a minute-

"Kartos- THAT PUPPY!" eleven years ago, when everything was alright, Max genetically modified a puppy for Krystal because she always complained about Sheshu not giving her the attention she wanted.

He chuckled, "Oh, I see you remember him. Well, he is not exactly a puppy anymore, and yeah, we also captured a man who is from Cobras. Don't worry, we won't do anything to him, but he is quite dramatic I must say." He scoffed and continued to walk, chuckling at the description of the man. I followed him to a room that was closed.

"Sweety, we have been searching for you for the last nine years but Jake always succeeded." Max immediately told me, and I just nodded.

Wait, why nine years? Why not eleven? I thought, but before I could ask him, Max knocked and then opened the door, revealing Krystal, who was sitting on a couch with a serious expression on her face with the phone in her hand.

She looked up and her eyes met mine and I gulped, "Have seat San-" She said, gesturing towards the bed in front of the couch, and I nodded.

I settled myself on the cushiony bed and watched Max stand beside Krystal as he placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting motion.

Krystal took a deep breath, and I was honestly confused about what was going on but stayed silent watching their actions. With one last breath, she clicked something on the phone, and immediately the speaker started shocking me.

"There- There is something wrong, Saumya. You need to get out of there-" A familiar famine voice blasted through the speakers, and Krystal flinched slightly, but Max patted her back.

"What are you saying, Kiara?" My mother's voice made its way inside my ears, shocking me, and I realized the other woman was Krystal's Mom.

"Who are you taking, Mama?" I heard Krystal's voice through the speaker and looked at her to find her eyes were already on me.

"I heard Damien talking with someone over his phone- you need to get off of there—please." Krystal's mother's voice was filled with terror and she was pleading, she must overheard something serious from Krystal's father.

"Don't worry, okay- I am just going to pick Sandra up from her training and do as you say-"

"You are not understanding Saumya-"

*Knock, knock*, the knocking on the door came out of the speaker and Krystal's expression was now totally blank, just like a mannequin.

"Oh- Yes Jake, what can I do for you?" My mother asked in her formal tone, and then, instantly, my mother's scream was followed by a sound of a thud, as if she fell on the floor.

"Saumya- Saumya!!!! Wha- What happened? " Krystal's mother's voice broke.

"Mama- what's wrong?"

"Kr-Kry- Saumya-"

"W-hy do yo- Jake?" My mom's voice was almost a whisper. Perhaps Jake hadn't found my mother's earbuds, which she always used behind her hair. That's why the phone didn't get disconnected.

My mind was racing just as my breaths, and I'm sure my eyes were puffy from the number of tears I was shedding.

"Krystal, where are you going?" Krystal's mother's voice yelled, and then the phone got disconnected.

The room was completely silent and I couldn't look at her with straight eyes, so I looked down. My breathing was becoming heavier and heavier with each passing second. I felt my body shaking. I wanted to hurt myself, I wanted to punish myself, I wanted to die-

I suddenly felt arms around my shoulders. The touch was soothing and familiar, but I felt more miserable and disappointed in myself-

"It's alright, Princess-" I felt breath over my ear. Her soothing words reached my brain, but they were not enough for me to feel any ease.

"I- mm- S-soryy-" I choked on my words and a few coughs followed, making me struggle to take the air. The arms tightened, and I felt her kiss my head.

"It's not your fault-" she said, but I cut her off.

"I-I-t is my fucking fault-"

"Princess-"

"Hurt me, punish me- make it stop Kry- I want to die," I started to cry in her arms and she let me go without saying a single word, which made me feel even worse.

I just cried and cried and cried for God knows how long.

The only way to survive in this world is-

'Trust no one,' yet I trusted the wrong person for a whole fucking eleven years.

Then I felt blank and empty. Slowly, I felt my eyes drift closed and everything went blank.

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Love- K.D♡