The one who betrayed.

The Hospital Room – Hours Later

I opened my eyes again sometime later—this time for real.

Everything was hazy, like I was underwater. There was a low hum of beeping machines and the sterile smell of antiseptic in the air. My body felt like it had been run over by a thousand nightmares. Every part of me ached, but worse than the pain was the numbness. I couldn't move my legs. I tried. Nothing happened.

Panic surged through me. My heart raced, but my body didn't follow.

Then I heard it.

"Emma? Emma, baby, you're awake?" my mom's voice cracked as she rushed to my side. Her uniform was creased like she'd come straight from a shift, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Liam stood beside her, his hands in his hair, pacing like a man ready to murder someone.

"You idiot. You reckless, reckless idiot!" Liam shouted, his voice booming through the room. "What the hell were you thinking?! Do you even understand what you've done to yourself?"

Mom pulled him back gently. "Liam... not now."

But I didn't care. I needed answers too.

"What happened to me?" I whispered. "Why can't I move?"

A doctor entered at that very moment, his expression tense.

"Emma, you've sustained internal damage. Your nervous system was strained beyond its limits. Whatever you did… it nearly killed you. You're lucky to be alive," he said gravely. "But right now, your body is in a state of shutdown. We're hopeful you'll recover movement slowly, but you need to stay admitted. At least three weeks."

Three weeks.

Three weeks in this sterile room, unable to move.

I felt the tears spill. Mom bent forward and cupped my cheeks, kissing my forehead as she cried.

"Why, Em? Why would you risk this? What were you trying to do?"

Liam crossed his arms, his jaw tight. "Start talking. Now."

I took a breath. A shaky one.

"There's something... dark. Inside me. Around me. Her name is Amelia. She's been haunting me, manipulating me, hurting me. She's not from now... she's from somewhere else. Some other time. I had to end it. I had to finish it before she took over."

Their eyes widened. I could tell they thought I was hallucinating.

"And who else knows about this?" Liam asked, voice like steel.

"Nathan," I said quietly.

There was a pause. A thick, heavy silence.

Mom looked between us. "Nathan. The boy from school? The quiet one?"

"He knew about the ritual?" Liam pressed.

I nodded. "He was the only one. I didn't tell Peter, Chloe, or anyone else. He was just... always curious. He asked about magic. He understood."

Liam clenched his fists. "Then where the hell was he, Emma? If he knew this could happen, why wasn't he there? Why hasn't he visited?"

That stopped me. Cold.

I blinked. "He... said he'd be there. I told him not to come. But... but he said he'd still watch from far."

"Then why is he not here?!" Liam exploded.

And that's when something clicked.

Liam kept going. "How can a boy who claimed to care so much just disappear the moment things go wrong? Doesn't make sense, Em."

I went silent. My breath caught.

Then I remembered.

The black stone.

The black stone I saw in Nathan's hand the first time we met. The one I asked about.

He said, "It's just a lucky charm... from my grandma."

But there was guilt in his eyes. A hesitation. A crack in his voice.

My mind spun. Scenes flashed. Our secret conversations. How he always knew more than I told him. How he always asked the right questions. How Amelia knew about the ritual.

How did she know?

Unless...

Unless Nathan told her.

Oh my God.

I looked at Liam with wide eyes. "I think... Nathan betrayed me."

Mom gasped.

Liam stepped forward, his face dark. "He's been playing both sides."

My lips trembled. My chest tightened. I couldn't breathe.

He knew the danger. He knew. And still...

He left me there to die.

he room spun.

My breath hitched.

My chest clenched as if someone had wrapped invisible ropes around my lungs and pulled tight. My fingers trembled against the bedsheets, and suddenly I wasn't just injured—I was unraveling. Every bone, every memory, every shred of trust I had was collapsing under the weight of this one truth:

Nathan betrayed me.

I gasped sharply, clutching my stomach. A sharp jolt of pain pierced through my ribcage. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't even cry.

"Emma?! EMMA!" Liam's voice cracked with panic as he rushed to my side.

My vision blurred. I heard my mom yell something—maybe to call the nurse—but before anything could register properly, my mind shut down. I collapsed into myself. Darkness swallowed me whole.

I woke up minutes later—or hours, I wasn't sure—greeted by a blinding white light and the distinct smell of antiseptic. My eyelids fluttered weakly, and I saw a nurse beside me checking my vitals. Liam was pacing like a lunatic in the corner, running a hand through his hair every two seconds. My mom sat on a chair nearby, wiping her eyes with a tissue. Her uniform was crumpled now, and she looked ten years older.

"Y-you're awake," she whispered, getting up quickly. "Thank god."

Liam marched straight to the bed, his eyes red with fury. "What the hell were you THINKING? Going off to do a ritual alone?! Without telling anyone? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt—"

"Well guess what, genius," Liam snapped, pointing around the hospital room, "YOU got hurt! You could've DIED, Emma!"

I stayed silent. Because I knew he was right.

He wasn't done. "Three WEEKS. That's how long you're going to be here. Internal damage, inflammation, tissue bruising, magic overload—God knows what else. You can't even move properly. You're literally paralyzed from waist down for now, and no one knows when that'll heal."

That made Mom gasp again. "You said it wasn't that serious—"

"It is," Liam muttered, then looked back at me. His voice broke. "You scared the hell out of me, Em."

I blinked, tears pooling in my eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I really am."

The door opened again with a soft creak.

Peter. Chloe. Edward.

They had been waiting outside—Liam had messaged the whole magical group the second I was found collapsed in the forest. They had come running to the hospital immediately, but had gone back outside to give me and Mom some alone time. Now, seeing me awake again, they rushed in.

Peter was the first to speak. "What happened to her suddenly?! She was fine just a while ago—"

"She remembered something," Liam muttered, arms crossed. "Something huge."

Chloe leaned in, eyes narrowing. "What did you remember, Em?"

I hesitated.

But I was done lying.

So I took a shaky breath and started to tell them everything—about Nathan, the rituals, how he was the only one who knew the exact time and location. How he promised he'd be there for me but didn't even show up. How he didn't visit. And the black stone. That stone he said was from his grandmother.

Peter stood frozen, brows furrowed. Chloe's jaw tightened with every word.

And Edward?

Edward just exploded.

"I KNEW IT!" he shouted. "I freaking knew there was something off about that bastard! He always gave me the wrong vibe. Always asked too many questions, always lurking. But nooo, I didn't have proof—"

Chloe looked like she wanted to punch something. "He was pretending to be your friend?! THIS ENTIRE TIME?!"

Peter's fists clenched. His voice was low, calm, but boiling underneath. "He saw you fall apart and didn't even show up? Not even to check on you?"

I looked down. "No."

Liam, voice rough, added, "Not even a message. Nothing."

That's when I said it out loud: "I think… he's a traitor."

The words hung in the air like a curse.

Everyone went quiet. Even Edward, whose mouth was still slightly open.

"I connected it all," I continued. "That black stone… it looked like the ones in Amelia's books. I thought it was just a lucky charm. But what if it wasn't? What if it was a channel for dark energy? What if—he was feeding her information?"

Chloe sat down hard on the chair, eyes wide. "Oh my God. He knew everything."

Liam muttered, "Everything that could destroy you."

"And he still let you go alone," Peter added bitterly. "He didn't even try to stop you. Didn't warn us. Nothing."

I closed my eyes. The room buzzed with rage, betrayal, and worry. My body hurt everywhere, but my heart hurt more.

Suddenly, Chloe looked at me and said, "I'm gonna kill him."

Edward nodded. "We're all in this now. If that jerk thinks he can mess with you and walk away, he picked the wrong girl."

Peter gently placed his hand over mine. "We'll protect you, Em. But we have to move carefully now. We need answers."

Tears welled in my eyes again, but this time—they weren't just from pain. They were from knowing I wasn't alone.

Liam sat on the side of the bed and muttered, half-jokingly, "If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I'm gonna handcuff you to the bed myself."

Chloe added, "Same. I'll braid your hair into the hospital rails."

Edward: "I'll superglue your shoes to the floor. Try running off then."

Even Mom laughed through her tears, hugging me softly.

And in that moment, even with a broken body, I felt a little stronger.

But deep down, a war had started.

And Nathan… had just made himself the enemy.