THE BAIT

WARNING

This novel contains themes that may be triggering or disturbing to some readers, including:

Emotional manipulation

Fake relationships

Betrayal and public humiliation

Bullying

Psychological distress

Power imbalance

Mental and emotional trauma

Harsh school environments

Internalized shame and isolation

Reader discretion is strongly advised.

This story does not romanticize abuse or humiliation. It explores the emotional consequences of betrayal and cruelty.

DEDICATED TO:

To the hearts

that trusted too easily,

loved too deeply,

and were laughed at for it.

To the ones who were used as jokes

when all they wanted

was to be chosen.

This story is for you.

You were never weak.

You were just too real

for a cruel world.

— ONYINYEANI4

INTRODUCE:

THE BAIT is a story about how easily people can confuse love with attention, kindness with manipulation, and affection with ownership.

It is about what happens when someone’s heart becomes a joke.

This story was written to explore:

The pain of being used

The damage caused by fake love

And the scars left behind by betrayal

If at any point this story feels heavy, take a break. Your heart comes first.

Thank you for choosing to read THE BAIT.

— ONYINYEANI4

MEMORY:

He held my hand like it was something precious.

That should have been my first warning.

The hallway was loud with laughter and footsteps, but inside my head, everything was quiet. When he looked at me, it felt like I finally mattered. Like I wasn’t invisible anymore. Like being chosen changed everything.

“Meet me after school,” he whispered. “There’s something I want to do.”

My heart nearly stopped.

I waited behind the gym like he said. My hands were shaking. My chest felt too tight. When he arrived, he smiled at me—the same gentle smile that made me believe lies.

Before I could speak, his fingers tilted my chin up.

And he kissed me.

For a second, the world disappeared.

Then the laughter exploded.

Phones were raised.

Voices shouted.

Someone clapped.

I pulled back in shock, my heart racing, my face burning. And that’s when I saw them—his friends, standing in a circle, recording everything.

One of them wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Bro—you actually did it!”

Another laughed harder.

“I told you he’d fall for it!”

The boy who had kissed me stepped back slowly.

And smiled.

Not the soft smile he gave me.

But a cruel one.

“You should see your face,” he said. “This was just a bet, idiot.”

My ears rang.

“A joke,” another voice added. “You really thought he liked you?”

He shrugged like I was nothing.

“I just needed to prove I could make you fall for it.”

Every sound died inside me.

The hallway. The laughter. My breathing.

All of it disappeared.

Because in that moment, I understood the truth.

I was never loved.

I was never chosen.

I was just bait.