To Love A Villain

Chapter 242: Betrayed

>>Persephone

The pain was overwhelming. Every breath felt like fire, and every inch of my body ached as if I had been torn apart from the inside. But I was still alive.

Barely

The light from Val’s attack had seared through me, breaking something inside but also giving me clarity. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I had control over my mind.

I blinked through the haze, my vision swimming in and out of focus. The air was thick with tension, the smell of blood and magic lingering in the clearing. And there was Val—standing above me, his eyes filled with something I couldn’t bear to look at.

Fear?

Anger?

Grief?

A tear slid down my cheek as I saw him approach. He looked like he was in as much pain as I was, but it wasn’t just physical.

"Where is Pen?" His voice was harsh, filled with raw emotion. The words cut through me, deeper than any wound. "What did you do to her?"

"I am Pen," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He looked like he didn’t believe me.

"What did you do to MY Pen." He demanded an answer.

"It’s me," I said, "I am Pen... Your Pen..." My voice was meek. "Don’t you remember? We promised... to get married at sixteen." My chest heaved with effort, but I needed him to know. To remember. "We made a promise..."

He froze, his face pale as he stared down at me. "N-no," He stammered, shaking his head, as though trying to shake off the truth. "You can’t be her."

"We made a promise... on the hill," I rasped, my voice weaker with every word. "I wore Mom’s veil." My vision blurred further, but I could still see the disbelief and horror etched into his face. "Till death do us part..." My words trailed off as my body trembled, but I saw it—his face, ashen, as if the ground beneath him had disappeared.

"No... no, no..." Val shook his head furiously, his hands trembling at his sides, refusing to accept what was right in front of him.

From behind him, Theo’s voice rang out, cold and sharp. "If it’s still alive, kill her!"

Val recoiled at Theo’s words, his whole body jerking as if struck. His head whipped around to look at them, and then back at me, his eyes wide, panicked.

"No..." His voice broke.

I could see it in him—the war he was fighting within himself. He wanted to believe me. He wanted to save me. But the doubt... the doubt was winning. His hands clenched, and he looked at me like he didn’t know whether to reach out or let go forever.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but no words came out. I was slipping, and I could feel the darkness creeping in once more. My heart ached as I watched him—watched the boy I loved crumble in front of me.

"Val..." I tried one last time, but my voice failed me.

He stood there, torn between his heart and the voices around him, and I wondered if this was the last time I would ever see him.

The others tried to rush over, but Val raised his hand, stopping them. His face was etched with pain, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I’ll do it," He said, voice hoarse, as though the words were tearing something inside him.

Gimli and Vaerion exchanged uncertain glances, but Theo wasn’t so easily stopped. "What are you doing, Val?" He demanded to know, his voice rising in panic.

But Val didn’t answer. His trembling hands reached for the pendant hanging around his neck—the pendant the witch had given him.

He unclasped it slowly, as if he was weighing the finality of what he was about to do. The pendant felt heavy, glowing faintly in the dim light of the forest. Taking a deep breath, Val closed his eyes and poured his magic into it.

A soft golden light began to pulse from the pendant, brighter with each passing moment.

"Val...?" I whispered, fear creeping into my voice.

He didn’t look at me.

With silent determination, Val flung the glowing pendant toward me. I barely had time to react before it hit me square in the chest, the force of the magic inside it rippling through my body. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and before I could comprehend what was happening, thick, green vines erupted from the ground.

They coiled around my wrists and ankles, twisting and tightening with unnatural strength. I struggled against them, but the more I fought, the more they constricted, pinning me down.

"Val! What are you doing?!" I gasped, trying to yank my arms free, but the vines dug deeper into the earth, anchoring me.

Then the ground shook.

!?!?!?!

The earth beneath us rumbled violently, deep and primal, like a force of nature long dormant had awakened. The trees groaned as their roots were torn from the soil, and the very air around us seemed to hum with an ominous energy.

The others were thrown to the ground by the tremor, struggling to keep their footing. Gimli scrambled back to his feet, his eyes wide with disbelief. Vaerion clutched at a nearby tree for balance, while Theo shouted over the chaos, his voice barely audible over the deep, rumbling quake.

"Val, what the hell is happening?!" Theo’s voice cracked with fear, but Val remained still. His eyes were locked on me, unblinking, as if he was watching something far beyond what I could see.

I tried to break free again, but the vines only tightened. "Val, help me!" I pleaded, panic rising in my chest. But he stood there, unmoving, his face ashen with grief.

Then, with a deafening crack, the ground split wide open.

A massive rift tore through the earth, cutting a jagged path between us and the others. The ground beneath Val and me began to give way, sinking slowly at first, but soon accelerating as though we were being swallowed by the earth itself. The land under our feet crumbled, trees toppling into the growing chasm, their roots clawing uselessly at the air before disappearing into the darkness below.

A rift was forming

The others watched in horror, stranded on the far side of the rift, helpless as the ground around us sank deeper into the abyss. The gap widened, the forest floor crumbling into the void. Dust and debris clouded the air, filling the space between us.

"Val, get out of there!" Vaerion yelled, but Val didn’t budge. He stood rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on me, even as the earth continued to fall away beneath him.

The rift yawned wider, separating us from the others. Rocks tumbled into the abyss, vanishing into the shadows below, and still, the tremors didn’t stop. The very ground beneath my feet shifted and cracked, the earth splitting apart with a deafening roar.

Gimli, Vaerion, and Theo scrambled back to solid ground, their faces pale, their shouts swallowed by the noise of the quake.

But Val stayed.

The ground beneath us dropped suddenly, and Val and I descended into the deepening rift. The distance between us and the others became insurmountable, a chasm of earth and rock splitting the group in two. The forest on the far side seemed almost unreal now, a place too distant to reach, as if we had been cast into a different world entirely.

"Val!" I cried, thrashing against the vines. The more I struggled, the more they constricted, pulling my arms and legs tighter to the ground. "Please, help me!"

The earth shook again, the violent tremors making it impossible to stand. But Val remained, his eyes unwavering, his face filled with sorrow. He didn’t move, even as the land beneath us continued to collapse.

The vines grew thicker, their dark tendrils coiling around my body like living chains. "Val? What is this?" My voice broke, panic creeping into every word. "What did you do?"

Val just watched as the vines began to wrap around my legs and arms, binding me tighter to the sinking earth. I looked at him, tears welling in my eyes, but he still said nothing, his silence louder than the quake surrounding us.

Another violent tremor ripped through the earth, and the land beneath us dropped again, sinking deeper into the darkness. Dust filled the air, and I could barely see the others now, their distant figures silhouetted against the shifting ground. The vines pulled me tighter, dragging me down with the crumbling earth.

"Val!" I screamed, my voice raw with desperation. "Val, please!"

As the earth continued to tremble and the vines constricted around me, I watched in horror as Val stood there, silently. His face was pale, his eyes shadowed with grief, but there was no more warmth in them—just cold determination. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the weight of the earth pulling me down.

"Val!" I cried out, my voice strained, but he didn’t respond. He simply stood there, watching.

The rift had fully formed now, a massive chasm separating us from the others. The vines twisted tighter around my body, holding me down as if they were a part of the earth itself. Every movement sent jolts of pain through me, but that was nothing compared to the fear flooding my mind.

As things began to settle, the ground calmed down and dust died down, the vines began to sew into my skin.

?!?!!

"What is happening?!?" I screamed. It was terrifying, "What- Val!!" I looked back at him. But he gave me one final look, with an internal sigh, then turned around to leave without a word.

"Val?" I watched him with my eyes wide, "W-where are you going?" I tried to struggle but it hurt more if I moved, "Val!!" Is he leaving me?

No!

He can’t leave me! But as I watched him walk away, I knew my suspicion was right.

"Val, please!" I screamed, my voice hoarse. "Don’t leave me here!"

He turned, slowly, his back to me. The moment he did, my heart dropped.

"Val!" I shouted again, panic rising. "It’s me! I’m Pen! Please!" My voice cracked, desperation seeping into every word. The vines tightened their grip, pinning me to the ground. "Val, please! You know me! You know it’s me!"

He looked ahead and kept walking

"Val!!"

He didn’t stop. His steps were slow, deliberate, as though each one was a heavy decision. His shoulders were hunched with the weight of his guilt, but he kept moving, walking away from me.

"Val! No! You can’t leave me!" I sobbed, pulling against the vines with everything I had, but they wouldn’t give. "I’m Pen! I’m Pen! You promised—" The words caught in my throat, my voice trembling with helplessness.

He was almost out of view now, leaving me behind in the sunken ground. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. "Val!" I screamed one last time, my voice barely a whisper as it broke, "Val... please."

He paused, his body still for a moment, and I thought—hoped—that maybe he would turn back, maybe he’d come to save me.

But instead, he exhaled, the sound carried on the wind, and kept walking.

"No..." It was like death to me, "Come back..." The worst kind of betrayal, "It’s me..." I whispered, "I promise... It’s me..." Tears rolled down my cheeks, "It’s me..."

I watched him disappear into the mist, my chest heaving with sobs.

The last thing I saw was his silhouette vanishing over the broken edge of the rift, and then I was alone.

For years