The Daily Sign-in Rewards System

CHAPTER 4 — BETRAYED 2

The atmosphere inside the room became noticeably heavier as the tension that had been building since Dylan entered pressed down on everyone like an invisible weight. The air felt suffocating, and the silence that followed his accusation stretched endlessly, making the room feel even smaller than it already was.

Brandon released a long sigh before shaking his head.

"Look, man... you should've honestly seen this coming."

A bitter laugh escaped Dylan's lips, carrying none of the amusement usually associated with laughter. Instead, it was filled with anger, disbelief, and a growing sense of betrayal.

"Seen what coming?"

Brandon casually spread his hands as though they were discussing something obvious. "The truth." He shrugged before continuing. "Amber is one of the hottest girls on campus. She's popular, beautiful, and high maintenance."

His gaze slowly traveled from Dylan's face to his worn clothes, and the judgment in his eyes was impossible to miss. "And you're barely surviving."

Dylan's jaw tightened immediately.

The words struck a nerve, and Brandon clearly recognized it.

"It isn't personal, Dylan. That's just reality," he said with a dismissive chuckle. "You couldn't keep up with someone like Amber forever."

Dylan stared at him as though he were looking at a complete stranger. This was someone he had trusted for years, someone he had defended countless times, and someone he had genuinely considered a brother.

"You've been my friend for years."

"And?" Brandon replied without hesitation. "That doesn't change facts."

A mocking smile slowly appeared on his face. "If anything, you should thank me."

Dylan's eyes darkened. "Thank you?" He repeated, narrowing his gaze at Brandon. "Enlighten me, thanking you for what exactly....is it for sleeping with my girlfriend behind my back? Or backstabbing me after all these years we have been friends?"

Brandon seemed unbothred by the words Dylan said. "Yeah. I'm taking the burden off your shoulders."

For several moments, Dylan simply stared at him, struggling to process the sheer audacity of what he was hearing. Then the final thread of restraint he had been desperately holding onto snapped.

"Shut the hell up!" His roar exploded through the room with enough force to make both Amber and Brandon visibly flinch.

Pointing furiously at Brandon, Dylan struggled to contain the rage coursing through him as his hand trembled violently.

"You disgusting backstabbing bastard!"

His breathing became increasingly unstable as years of trust crumbled before his eyes.

"I trusted you. You knew how much Amber meant to me, and you still crawled behind my back like some pathetic snake."

The amusement immediately vanished from Brandon's face and was replaced by something much darker.

"What exactly do you mean by pathetic?"

Dylan let out a cold laugh. "You've always been like this."

Brandon narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"

"Jealous." Dylan remarked.

The room instantly fell silent.

Even Amber stopped moving as Dylan took a slow step forward without breaking eye contact.

"You always wanted everything I had."

His voice carried years of buried frustration as memories surfaced one after another, bringing back incidents he had ignored, excuses he had made, and warning signs he had convinced himself weren't important.

"You copied my clothes, copied my hobbies, and even copied the way I talked. Now you've decided to copy my girlfriend too."

For a brief moment, Brandon simply stared at him before bursting into laughter.

The mocking sound echoed throughout the room.

"You're seriously delusional." Shaking his head, Brandon looked at him as though he were ridiculous. "Why the hell would I be jealous of you?"

The amusement gradually disappeared from his expression and was replaced by pure cruelty.

"You lost your parents."

Dylan froze.

"You lost your family wealth."

His chest tightened painfully.

"And now you're losing your girlfriend too."

Each sentence felt like another knife being driven into an already open wound.

Brandon stepped closer and maintained eye contact as a cruel smile slowly formed on his lips.

"So tell me something. What exactly do you have left for me to envy?"

Dylan's fists trembled violently as the room suddenly felt smaller and his breathing grew heavier.

Yet Brandon still wasn't finished.

"In fact, most people around campus honestly pity you."

Before Dylan could respond, Amber finally spoke.

"And they're right."

Dylan slowly turned toward her. For a brief moment, he desperately hoped she would defend him, tell Brandon to stop, or show even the smallest amount of regret.

Instead, she folded her arms and looked at him with complete indifference.

"The only reason I stayed with you this long was because I felt sorry for you after your parents died."

Those words hit Dylan harder than anything Brandon had said.

The color drained from his face as the room around him seemed to blur. "What...?"

Amber never looked away. She showed no hesitation, no guilt, and no remorse. "You were emotionally broken after the accident, so I couldn't just abandon you immediately."

Her voice remained calm and detached, making every word feel deliberate, precise, and merciless.

"But honestly, dating you became exhausting."

Dylan felt his heartbeat becoming painfully erratic as a sharp ache spread through his chest. The woman he loved was dismantling years of memories as though they had never meant anything.

"Did you seriously think love alone was enough?"

She gestured around the room as frustration finally appeared on her face.

"I have needs too, Dylan. I got tired of pretending I was satisfied struggling beside you."

Then she glanced toward Brandon, and the look she gave him was one Dylan had once believed belonged exclusively to him.

"At least Brandon can actually provide for me."

The words shattered something deep inside him.

Suddenly, Dylan felt as though he couldn't breathe as every insult, revelation, and confession landed like another devastating blow.

Meanwhile, Brandon casually approached him as though none of this was a big deal and as though he hadn't just destroyed years of friendship.

Placing a hand on Dylan's shoulder, he spoke lightly.

"Look, man, I understand you're upset—"

Dylan instantly slapped the hand away with enough force to make Brandon stumble backward.

"Don't touch me."

His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice trembled with rage.

"I don't want anything to do with either of you ever again."

Brandon's face darkened. "You're overreacting."

Dylan stared at him in disbelief. "Overreacting? You slept with my girlfriend."

Brandon scoffed. "Ex-girlfriend."

The moment those words left his mouth, something inside Dylan ignited completely.

Any remaining restraint vanished as he grabbed Brandon by the collar and yanked him forward. "You think this is funny?!"

Amber immediately rushed toward them.

"Dylan, stop it!"

Brandon, however, showed no fear. Instead, a slow mocking smirk appeared on his face before he leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"No wonder your parents died."

Everything inside Dylan seemed to stop.

His grip tightened unconsciously as he stared at Brandon, wondering whether he had heard correctly.

Brandon's smile widened.

"Maybe being around you just brings bad luck to everyone."

Something inside Dylan shattered completely.

Years of grief, loneliness, pain, and suppressed anger erupted all at once as his fist shot forward and slammed into Brandon's face with explosive force, sending him crashing into a nearby table while furniture rattled violently from the impact.

Amber screamed, but Dylan was no longer thinking rationally.

Years of bottled-up rage exploded uncontrollably as he surged forward and drove another punch into Brandon before he could recover.

"You bastard! You think this is funny?!"

Brandon desperately raised his arms to shield himself, but blood was already pouring from his nose.

Panicking, Amber rushed forward and grabbed Dylan from behind while desperately trying to pull him away.

"Stop it! Dylan, stop!"

Caught in the chaos and blinded by rage, Dylan shoved her away without thinking, sending her stumbling backward before she completely lost her balance and crashed onto the floor with a loud impact that echoed throughout the hallway.

Everything happened at once after that.

The hostel room door burst open as several security guards rushed inside.

"What the hell is happening here?!"

Dylan immediately turned toward them, believing for a brief moment that someone would finally listen to the truth.

Before he could utter a single word, however, Amber burst into tears.

"He tried to hurt me!"

Dylan froze.

Pointing toward him while crying, Amber delivered the accusation with frightening conviction.

"I told him I wanted to break up and he went crazy!"

One of the guards immediately grabbed Dylan.

"What nonsense are you saying?!" he roared.

However, Brandon suddenly struggled to his feet with blood covering his face and deliberately presented himself as weak and injured.

"I was only trying to stop him," he muttered painfully.

The guards believed him immediately.

The outcome had already been decided long before Dylan was given the chance to speak. Amber Hart was one of the university's most popular students, Brandon came from a wealthy and influential family, and Dylan was merely a struggling student with neither status nor influence.

"No! She's lying!"

Dylan fought against the guards restraining him.

"They're both lying!"

Nobody listened.

By now, students had gathered outside the room, and curious faces filled the hallway as whispers spread rapidly through the crowd. Rumors traveled from person to person before anyone bothered learning the facts, moving far faster than the truth ever could.

Dylan's entire body trembled as he stared at Amber, desperately searching her face for even the smallest hint of guilt or regret.

Instead, she avoided his gaze entirely.

Meanwhile, Brandon wiped blood from the corner of his mouth before allowing a subtle smirk to appear.

Most people would have missed it.

Dylan didn't.

That expression told him everything he needed to know.

At that moment, a painful realization settled deep inside his heart as he finally understood that the truth didn't matter in a world where wealth and influence could shape reality itself, because in this world, money and status carried far more weight than truth ever would.