CHAPTER 105: CAUGHT IN 4K

"Unbelievable," Megan said, her voice cutting through the cold like glass underfoot. She didn’t yell. She didn’t move.

Her mouth hung open slightly, like she still hadn’t registered what she was seeing, what they were seeing. Her eyes were wide, flicking between Merlina and Craig, who still looked breathless from the kiss.

Louis stood frozen beside her, not angry, not yet. Just confused. Deeply, visibly confused.

His brows furrowed, like he was trying to rewire everything he thought he knew about the last few months. About Merlina. About the Lesnars.

Where he got it all wrong. What he had missed.

Phoebe broke the silence, storming forward with fury in every step. "I don’t give a fuck about you two," she snapped, her voice seething. "Where’s Keith?"

Merlina’s lips parted like she meant to speak, but couldn’t find the right words.

"Inside," Craig beat her to it, "In the questioning room." he said gently.

Phoebe didn’t even blink. She brushed past the both of them like they were trash bags on the curb. But then, two steps in, she stopped.

Took a breath.

And then stepped back.

"You know what?" Phoebe said slowly, spinning around to face Merlina with wide, unblinking eyes. "Keith can wait," Her tone shifted, low, deliberate, venomous. "You’re nothing but a cheap, lying slut, Merlina."

Merlina stiffened, she had braced herself for backlash, just not something that cut this deep. Her mouth opened, trembling with the start of a protest, but she was choked by shame.

Craig stepped in, voice clipped. "Phoebe,"

Phoebe’s eyes flared like she’d been waiting for that. "Oh, wow," she sneered. "So the rumors were true, huh? You’re really protective of her." Her gaze swept over him like filth. "What now, you wanna fight me? You wanna step in for your new girl?"

"Look—" Craig began, jaw tight, trying to rein it in, but Merlina pressed a hand to his chest. A small, pleading gesture. Her fingers trembled against the fabric of his coat.

"I need a minute," she whispered, her eyes locked on his, glassy and pleading. "Please."

Craig looked down at her. His eyes searched hers, uncertain. His hands clenched at his sides. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.

He knew she wasn’t asking him to stay.

She was asking him to go, because she didn’t want this to spiral. Not in front of them. Not like this.

"Please," Merlina repeated, softer now. Like it hurt to say it.

Craig hesitated, just a second longer, then gave her the faintest nod. His expression shifted, something close to guilt across his face as he walked away.

As his footsteps faded, Phoebe scoffed.

"Shameless," she muttered, eyes locked on Merlina with icy contempt.

Then she spun on her heel and walked off too, leaving Merlina alone the wreckage of everything she couldn’t take back.

She finally turned toward them, Megan and Louis, the only two left standing.

And Megan just shook her head, heartbroken. "Oh my God." Her voice wasn’t angry anymore. It was something worse.

"We came here for you," Megan said, her voice trembling, like it hurt to speak, "We heard what happened. Just like everyone else."

She let that sink in. Her eyes glistened, not with tears, but disbelief.

"You live with us, Merlina. We’re your friends. Or at least I thought we were. And instead of hearing it from you, we found out through rumors, the same way strangers did."

Merlina’s throat tightened. She couldn’t speak. The shame pressing down on her chest made it hard to even lift her head.

"I mean, God," Megan exhaled, pacing slightly. "You’re dating my brother. And I came here to comfort you, to be here for you, because I thought something horrible had happened. But instead I walk in on this?" She gestured behind her, to where Craig had walked away. "You, with...Craig Lesnar?"

Her voice cracked on the last word. "What is wrong with you?"

It took everything just to breathe, let alone speak, but Merlina managed a whisper. "I’m so sorry. I’m so...so sorry."

Megan shook her head. "No, you’re not. You’re not sorry. Phoebe and I knew. God, we knew. There was always something between you and him."

Louis blinked. "What?"

Megan looked at him, her voice quieter now. "We saw it, Lou. But we didn’t want to believe it. It was too crazy to even say out loud."

Louis turned to Merlina, eyes searching her face. "Is that true?"

Merlina swallowed hard. "I—"

"I’m done here," Megan muttered, cutting her off. "I am so fucking done here."

She turned without another word, no glance back, no hesitation and walked off, her steps sharp with betrayal, like she needed to leave before she said something worse.

Merlina wished, deep in her heart, that she could call her back. But what could she even say?

That it was a mistake? That it meant nothing?

Even if Megan listened, what could possibly make this make sense? There was no version of this where she didn’t look like the villain.

Louis stepped closer, voice trembling. "Say something," he said. "Please. Because I actually need you to explain. I need to understand."

Merlina looked up at him, guilt etched into every line of her face. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—"

"No." Louis stepped back, raising his hand. "I don’t need an apology. I need the truth. What the hell was that? What were you doing with Craig?"

Merlina’s eyes filled with tears. "A lot has been going on, Louis. More than you know. I found out that my mom, she’s alive. She never died."

His expression changed. "How?"

"And today," she continued shakily, "I found out that my dad was the one who pushed her, from the science wing. It’d been him all along, my dad left her for dead."

Louis looked at her like he was trying to hear her through a fog. "Okay. So you found out Conor didn’t kill your mom, and what? You just... jumped into Craig’s arms?"

"No," Merlina said, her voice catching as the tears finally slipped free. "That’s not it—"

"So it didn’t start today?" Louis cut in, his voice breaking. "Is that what you’re telling me?"

She froze. Didn’t nod, didn’t shake her head. She just stood there, and that silence, it screamed the truth.

Louis took a shaky step back, like the weight of it physically hit him. "What were you doing, Merlina?" His voice was lower now, rawer. "You were kissing him?"

Louis asked like he still needed confirmation, even if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Merlina didn’t answer. She looked down instead, her shoulders curling inward as she slowly dragged the toe of her shoe across the floor, aimless, embarrassed and exposed.

"When did it start?" he asked again, quieter this time, almost like he was begging her to make it make sense.

The question landed heavy, too heavy. Merlina exhaled shakily, her eyes lifting to his, as if the words themselves didn’t compute. She didn’t know how to answer, didn’t even know where it had begun.

Then, suddenly, her phone buzzed. Loud, insistent. Names lighting up on her screen, Melissa’s call, Alistair’s text, like reminders of the real world pressing in.

"Louis, I—" she started, glancing at her phone. "I can’t really do this right now."

His eyes hardened. "That’s it? I don’t deserve an explanation from you?"

"No," she said quickly, desperate. "You do. Of course you do. Just... not right now. My siblings, they need me." Her voice cracked as she held up the phone like it could explain everything, her panic, her guilt, her divided heart. "Please."

Merlina turned before he could speak, unwilling to face the devastation she was sure she’d find in his eyes.

She disappeared around the corner, her voice barely audible as she answered the call. The air she left behind felt split open, sharp, charged, waiting to explode.

Louis stood in the empty parking lot long after Merlina left. His heart pounded, he couldn’t breathe, still couldn’t get over what he’d just seen.

Then he moved.

Slowly. Purposefully. Down the hallway and around the bend, until he saw him.

Craig Lesnar.

Standing alone outside the exit doors, his back straight, his jaw locked, one hand clenched in his coat pocket, the other holding his phone like everything was normal.

Like he hadn’t wrecked anything. No guilt, no shame, just...nothing.

And that was what pissed Louis off.

"Lesnar!" Louis shouted, marching straight toward him, not giving a damn about the uniforms around them or the cold, sterile walls closing in.

Craig turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing.

"So this is it, huh?" Louis said bitterly. "You wanna mess with me, so you go and kiss my girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" he scoffed. "You mean the girl you took advantage of? The one who came to Belford looking for answers and instead found you ?"

Louis’s shoulders tensed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Craig took a step forward. His voice was sharp, low, every syllable like a knife.

"I’m talking about the fact she trusted you, when her life was falling apart and you fed her nothing but lies. You misled her, pointed her in all the wrong directions."

Louis narrowed his eyes, but didn’t speak. His jaw twitched, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"Twisted the narrative until she didn’t even know which way was up." Craig continued.

Louis let out a bitter laugh, "You’re fucking insane. You don’t even know what you’re saying."

"Don’t I?" Craig scoffed, "What do you have to say now that Conor’s innocent, huh?" Craig snapped, stepping closer. "You inserted yourself into her life, made her believe you were helping, but you were just sneaking your way in."

Louis’s fists clenched. "Can you hear your fucking self? What is it with you arrogant—"

"She deserves an apology," Craig growled. "You sick son of a bitch."

Louis stood breathing heavily, rage humming through his veins. "You don’t know a damn thing about me. Or her."

Craig moved closer, voice like ice and poison all at once. Steady, but meant to hurt.

"I know you didn’t give a shit about her, not really. I know you kept her chasing ghosts while you fed your own ego. I know she was drowning, and instead of pulling her out, you handed her a brick."

Louis took a step forward. "Say that again."

Craig didn’t flinch. "You. Let. Her. Drown."

Louis didn’t think.

His fist collided with Craig’s cheekbone with a crack that sounded like something splitting open. Craig’s head jerked to the side, and the silence that followed hit harder than the blow itself.