Fortuitous || Jack Steele [1]

fifty one

Madelyn's POV.

"It was a mistake. I. Regret. Kissing. You."

I step back on shaking legs at Jack's hateful words. The salty tears build, caused by the words I never thought I'd hear, especially from someone so sweet.

My lip trembles but I bite down on it harshly. I can do nothing when a rogue tear slips from its confines, gliding down my cheek and leaving a glossy path in its wake.

I was deceived. I was fooled.

My eyes stare at the pavement to avoid the relentless glare. A tornado tears my head apart, my thoughts flying around in the forceful winds.

"Don't you get it?!" Jack's voice is loud and angered.

My pained look shoots up to meet those cold eyes again. How were they once so warm?

"The kiss meant nothing to me, King. Absolutely nothing," he finishes in a growl, jaw clenched. He bears down upon me with fiery eyes, towering over my form.

My heart splits down the middle and the tears come crashing through like a tidal wave. A tsunami of extremely excruciating emotion that rips me apart like a pack of wolves.

I break, on the verge of collapse, wanting nothing more than to disappear right then and there.

A dagger is now lodged straight into the worthless organ in my chest that inflicts nothing but pain. It makes me want to scream. It makes me want to cry. It makes me want to hurl.

He betrayed me. He lied to me. He broke me.

I thought he was the one. But no, apparently he never was. He played on my feelings. He turned on me. He was never who I thought he was.

A fake.

Jack Steele stole more than just my heart. He stole my weaknesses, my happiness and all the time I spent trying to get to know him. I can never get that back now.

I hop away as quickly as I can but not without cursing at my weak leg for slowing me down. I want nothing more to get away from him.

I don't look back. I don't want to see that icy and merciless glare or I'll just fall and never get back up again. I'll collapse from the utter betrayal.

Tears stream down my face profusely with no sign of stopping. An ever-flowing waterfall representing nothing but heartbreak and vulnerability. It shows how I've been tipped over the very edge.

I move as swiftly as possible past the dining area. What I don't realise is Max and Bytes noticed my distress, so did Ben.

The sky has become dark. Ominous clouds hanging above in thick layers. My legs take me to the nearby beach.

I trip over my own feet and collapse onto the sand. I punch the ground with my fist in a sadness-driven anger. It only takes a moment more before I begin sobbing into my palm, my other arm wrapped around my aching stomach. My lungs scream for air but I can't seem to get enough oxygen.

"Madelyn!" One desperate voice yells. Max.

"Where are you?!" A similar voice calls out with worry. Ben.

"Mads!" Bytes.

I gasp, trying to end my suffocation. It's not a panic attack, well, at least I don't think it is. I think I'm just crying so hard that I'm strangling myself without actually strangling myself.

Hands grasp my shoulders, a firm and desperate grip. I'm met with Ben's concerned brown eyes. "Breathe, Mads."

I didn't know he was coming today. I don't even show my surprise at his appearance because I'm trying to suck oxygen into my lungs.