Chapter 25: Maria Destroyed Kayla

A jarring notification: a voice note from Milan, my other ex. The name alone sent a chill down my spine. His voice, when it came, was hollow, defeated."This is it, Kayla," he said, each word a painful exhale. "I can't live with what you've done." A live location followed, a digital breadcrumb leading to his despair.A wave of nausea washed over Sansula and me. "Sansula, we have to go now!" I urged, the urgency in my voice mirroring the frantic beat of my heart. "He's on the bridge near the North mall! He's going to jump!""Where, exactly?!" Sansula demanded, his hands already gripping the steering wheel."Hurry, please!" I pleaded, my fingers flying across the screen as I sent a desperate voice message. "Milan, please don't do this! My god, I am so sorry. I understand now, truly. I swear, I've learned my lesson. I will never be so careless with someone's heart again."The drive was a blur of speed and rising panic. We reached the bridge, tires squealing as Sansula braked sharply. My breath hitched in my throat. There he was, Milan, a lone figure silhouetted against the twilight sky, standing on the precipice. Below, the inky water reflected the city lights, a vast, unforgiving darkness leading towards Amsterdam Centraal."Milan!" My cry was torn from my chest, raw with fear and guilt. "Please, get down! Please!""Why, Kayla?" His voice drifted on the wind, a mournful echo. "Why did you do this? I loved you more than words can say.""I know, Milan, I know," I choked out, tears blurring my vision. "And I am so, so sorry.""I gave you everything, Kay," he continued, his voice laced with a heart-wrenching sadness. "When my mother died, you were my anchor. You were so kind to Sophie, like a real sister. How could you throw all that away?"His words struck me like a physical blow. The depth of his love, the pain I had inflicted... it was overwhelming. I was speechless, the weight of my actions crushing me."I... I was driven by my own selfish desires, Milan," I finally managed, my voice thick with shame. "I didn't understand the consequences.""Consequences?" His voice was laced with disbelief. "This is more than consequences, Kay. This is my life.""Milan...""Promise me, Kayla. Promise me you'll be mine, and I'll step back.""Right now," I choked out, each word a struggle, "trying to fix us isn't healthy. We both need help, Milan. Maybe... maybe after we get better, we can talk.""So that's a no," he whispered, the defeat in his voice a crushing weight.Then, with terrifying finality, he leaned back and vanished over the railing into the churning darkness below. The sounds of the storm – the relentless rain, the booming thunder – seemed to swallow his fall.Sansula lunged forward, an animalistic cry tearing from his throat, but Maria's grip on his arm was like iron. "It's too dangerous," she insisted, her voice tight with urgency.Sansula wrestled free, his face a mask of anguish, and scrambled down the muddy bank towards the unforgiving water.I collapsed onto my knees, a sob tearing through me, the reality of what had just happened a sickening punch to the gut. Maria knelt beside me, her touch on my back meant to be comforting, but her words were a twisted blade."Look what you've done, Gula," she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper. "Five men, all tangled in your web. Two of which were driven to extremes because of your... appetites. One almost became a killer, the other a suicide. Tell me, Gula, how is that different from my own methods?""Please, Maria," I begged, tears streaming down my face. "Just stop.""Cheating," she continued, her voice relentless, "it's the mark of a true sociopath. Doesn't that make you just as much a devil as me? Look at us, Kayla. What you did is a fundamental disregard for others, a core trait you, me and our sisters all share. We are not like the petty humans, Kayla. We are homunculi. We are built for more. We're all the same. I'm just the reflection you refuse to see."Her words were a brutal mirror, forcing me to confront the devastating consequences of my actions. The lives I had touched, the pain I had inflicted... it was a horrifying reflection of the destruction she wrought on a grander scale. The truth in her words resonated with a disturbing clarity. My actions, driven by my own desires, had led to destruction, just as hers did."But don't despair, dear Kayla," she purred, her hand now a cold weight on my shoulder. "We are homunculi. We are not bound by their frail morality. We are superior. Their suffering is simply... the natural order. We are beyond their petty moralities. We are the next stage. They exploit animals; we simply apply that same principle. We are the apex predators now."Sansula returned, his face etched with despair, the futility of his search clear in his empty hands. Maria's cruel logic had burrowed deep, leaving me shattered, the weight of my guilt compounded by the chilling truth of her words.