Finding Love in the game: My soulmate story

Chapter five

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. I groaned as I rolled over to put my feet on the floor, but a wave of dizziness hit me, making me collapse back into bed. Rubbing my eyes and forehead, I lay there for what felt like forever before finally managing to get up after about fifteen minutes. I went through my morning routine in a daze.

When I checked my phone, I saw there were no messages from Muk. I assumed he was still trying to find ways to blame me for catching him flirting with someone else the night before.

I changed into something more appropriate and went downstairs, where my family had gathered for breakfast. Normally, I would have stayed upstairs playing games with my friends, but after last night and feeling so disappointed in Nev’s response, I just didn’t feel like it anymore.

"Look who’s down here having breakfast with us," my younger sister teased as I sat down next to her.

I rolled my eyes, too tired to argue.

"Why are your eyes puffy?" my mom asked, setting her cup of tea down in front of me.

"I stayed up late last night, playing games," I lied.

She looked at me with uncertainty but didn’t press the issue, which I was grateful for.

After breakfast, I got up to clean the house when my phone went off. It was Muk calling. Not wanting to start another fight, I sighed and answered.

"Hello," I said, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

"Get ready, I'll come pick you up," he said, and hung up before I could respond.

I sighed again, quickly washed my dishes, and then headed upstairs to change. By the time I was done, I got a text from him saying he was outside. I grabbed my shoes and rushed out.

As usual, he was parked in front of my house in his Skyline. I climbed into the passenger seat and greeted him dryly. "Hey."

He smirked at me. "Are you still mad about last night?"

I ignored him and stared out the window. I wasn’t jealous anymore. In fact, part of me was relieved he was seeing someone else—this was my way out, though I couldn’t tell him that.

"Come here," he said suddenly, grabbing my head and planting a soft kiss on my forehead. "I promise I won’t do that again," he said, holding my hand in his. "I don’t know what I was thinking, but I promise you, there’s nothing between us."

I didn’t say anything. His words just confirmed what I already knew—there was no way out for me. I had no choice but to accept it.

"Can you not behave like this again?" I finally said, turning to face him.

"I won’t," he promised, kissing my cheek.

Normally, a girl would melt under such gestures, but I was numb. I was too far gone to care anymore.

"Because of how I acted last night, I’m taking you shopping," he said as he drove us toward the shopping center.

At the mall, he bought me new shoes, jumpers, and a few other things. Once we were done, he took me to my favorite restaurant. But once again, his gestures didn’t touch me. They felt like obligations. I held his hand, laughed at his jokes, and nodded when he asked if I loved him, but I didn’t. I hadn’t for a long time—not after all the hurtful things he’d said.

I pretended, because that’s all I could do.

By the time we were heading back, it was dark. But instead of turning toward my street, he made a different turn. Confused, I looked at him.

"I won’t let you go home without giving me what I crave the most," he said, his words making my stomach drop.

I didn’t respond. Arguing would only make things worse. I had no choice but to play along.

When we arrived at an abandoned park, he jumped into the back seat and waited for me to climb back there with him. A tear slipped down my face as I forced myself to follow him. Thankfully, the darkness hid it.

After he was done, he drove me home, kissed me goodnight, and left. I ran up to my room, slammed the door, and collapsed onto my bed, crying. I hated his touch. I hated his kisses. I just hated it all.

I stripped off my clothes and went to the bathroom, standing under the shower, trying to scrub away the feeling of his hands on me. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wash it off.

When I came back to my room, I tried to escape into my world online. But just as I was hoping to find solace, I noticed that Nev—the one person I really wanted to talk to—had disappeared from my game list and Instagram.My heart sank even further.

I decided to distract myself by working out. I pushed myself through two hours of training, hoping exhaustion would give me the peace I desperately needed.

But when I finally closed my eyes, sleep was still elusive. My nightmares came as they always did—of being chased, of the woman who wasn’t human, of the trauma I’d buried deep inside. I woke up, gasping for breath, only to fall back into the same terrifying dreams.

The only comfort came from sneaking into my sister’s room and sleeping on her floor. There, in the silence of her room, I managed to get a few hours of sleep.