The Devil's Favourite Obsession

Cixi remained seated, paralysed not by physical restraints, but by her own trembling body. She desperately didn’t want to appear weak in front of her bullies, not after how far she had come over the last six months. But her past memories were rooted deep inside her. Logically, she knew she had no reason to fear these three anymore, yet the memory of college, of the helplessness she had felt back then, came rushing back, threatening to drown her.

While the match distracted the rest of the crowd playing out, Cixi sat quietly, fighting to gather her fractured courage.

She curled her hands into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms to ground herself. She took a steady breath and finally turned to meet Silviya’s cunning eyes.

”What did I do to make you hate me so much? Why won’t you just leave me alone? I left college just to get away from you. So why are you still stalking me like some pathetic revenge ghost — one that’s clearly too dim-witted to move on? Seriously, if you are going to haunt me, at least do it with dignity rather than selling a cheap story to naive good people!”

Cixi was tired of running away from her past. She tried to make amends with Silviya when she was in college. She had tried asking Silviya this once before, desperate to understand what mistake she had made for her to hate her, but Silviya had only ever offered a cruel, mocking smile.

Cixi just wanted to know why. If she had actually done something wrong, she would apologise and beg them to just drop it. She knew deep down she didn’t owe them an apology for anything, but if swallowing her pride and saying the words would finally make these three vanish from her life forever, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Lily shot up from her chair as if the plastic had suddenly caught fire. ”Hate?” She bellowed, her voice ringing out sharp and strong. ”What do you mean, hate?” She whipped around to glare at Silviya with wide and furious eyes. ”Did you not tell me you two were best friends? Did you not just say you were worried about her? Then why is my friend asking why you hate her?”

The sickly sweet facade Silviya had been playing for Lily vanished in an instant. Her smile warped into a snarl of pure disgust. ”Did I not tell you to watch your filthy mouth, Stinky Cixi?” she hissed at Cixi.

Without warning, Silviya moved. She twisted her hand viciously into Cixi’s hair and yanked her head back harshly, causing a cry to escape Cixi’s lips. When Silviya leaned in close, her nasty breath fell on Cixi’s ear. ”Do you really not know why I hate you? How long are you planning to act this innocent and fool people? Even after the video went viral, are you still claiming to be an untouched whore?” The hate ran deeper in Silviya’s heart for Cixi. ”Every guy on campus looked at you like you were something precious to treasure. While others saw a naive Cixi. I saw the real you. I hated when you got unnecessary attention—especially when my boyfriend couldn’t stop staring at you. And you whore, what did you do? One day you gave him an innocent smile? Did you think I wouldn’t catch you trying to steal my boyfriend?”

”I never smiled—” Before Cixi could say in her defence. Silviya pulled her hair backwards.

”So I made sure they all turned against you instead. You disgusting waste of space,” Silviya hissed, her words dripping with malice as she leaned in closer. ”I want to sell you into a nightmare, a living, breathing slave to someone who would revel in your torment. I have already found a man with a thirst for pain. He is into the darkest, most twisted kinks. Just imagine you being at his mercy, learning what true hell feels like. The thought alone makes me laugh.”

No one could hear what Silviya was whispering to Cixi, but the horror etched on Cixi’s face spoke volumes. It was clear that Silviya’s words were conjuring the images that could make the ground feel as though it were crumbling under her.

”Cixi!” Lily exclaimed, immediately lunging forward to pry Silviya’s fingers from her friend’s hair.

But Ronny moved faster. He caught both of Lily’s wrists, wrenching her arms painfully behind her back and locking her in place. ”Don’t move!” Ronny barked, his grip bruising. ”Stand still, Bitch.”

The colour drained entirely from Lily’s face as a horrifying realisation hit her. Her naive attempt to play peacemaker, her stupid belief in Silviya’s lies had walked her best friend right into a trap. But her fear quickly gave way to fiery anger.

”You are going to regret this, you Arse,” Lily spat, struggling fiercely against his hold. ”Let me go!” She threw venomous daggers at Ronny. ”And who are you calling a Bitch?” She glared at Silviya. ”The real fucking Bitch is the one sitting right there.” To punctuate her disgust, Lily turned her head and spat forcefully onto the ground.

From behind, Ronny kicked hard at the back of Lily’s knee, forcing her legs to buckle so she crashed painfully onto the ground. ”Shut your mouth, Bitch, before I break your teeth,” he threatened her.

Kevin stepped forward, his face dark. Without a second of hesitation, he threw a brutal punch, his fist colliding sickeningly with the side of Lily’s face. The impact was so jarring she would have hit the chairs if Ronny hadn’t been holding her arms tight. A sharp, blinding pain exploded in her cheekbone, and her head spun violently, catching her breath in her throat.

Cixi’s chest heaved. The paralysing fear evaporated, instantly replaced by a blinding, white-hot fury. It was one thing for them to make her own life a living hell, but the second they laid hands on her friend, a line was crossed. With a feral cry, Cixi threw her upper body forward, slamming the crown squarely into the bridge of Silviya’s nose.