51. Chapter 46 #2
Their carefree laughter felt like poison in his ears.
Then he saw Sergej.
At the main entrance of the tent, in plain sight, standing casually with a glass of wine in his hand.
That smug grin, the effortless confidence, as if he owned the damn world—it felt like a punch to Bas’ stomach.
His stare locked onto him, unwavering and merciless.
You dare stand here? You dare laugh?
For a moment, Bas didn’t move.
But then, the rage inside him burned hotter, sharper.
His breathing quickened, his pulse thundered in his ears like an approaching storm.
The fury inside him surged, a burning flame threatening to consume him entirely.
But deep within that fire was another thought—Evin’s face.
Her distant behavior, the way she had tried to stay strong.
The fear in her eyes that he now understood.
Am I protecting her if I hit him?
Or am I just making it worse?
The thought flickered briefly before anger drowned it out again.
He destroyed he r.
He made her hate herself.
And I did nothing to save her.
Guilt tightened around his throat, but it only fueled the rage, turning it into a weapon.
Bas felt his hands tremble, his chest rising and falling as the storm inside him grew stronger.
I left her alone.
She was too afraid to tell me because she thought I’d abandon her.
Because I always abandoned her.
Every fiber of his body hurt.
His steps grew faster, harder. The wooden floor creaked under the weight of his resolve.
The people around him faded into shadows, their faces blurred, their voices muted.
All that remained was Sergej.
Bas clenched his teeth so hard a sharp pain shot through his jaw, but it was nothing compared to the fire consuming him.
His guilt, his fury, his pain—they fused into one unstoppable force.
He broke her.
And now, I’m going to break him.
His walk turned into a charge, his eyes locked onto Sergej, who hadn’t even noticed him yet.
That grin burned itself into Bas’ mind like an open wound.
I’m going to rip that smile off your face.
I’m going to show you what it means to be afraid.
The distance between them shrank, each step an unspoken vow.
There was no retreat, no moment of hesitation.
Bas was a storm.
And Sergej would not survive it.
Finally, Bas stood in front of him, the air between them thick with tension.
You disgusting bastard…
His breath was heavy, his fingers curled into fists, ready to explode at any moment.
Sergej had the grin of a man who believed he still held the upper hand—not through strength, but through words as sharp as blades.
"Hey, Bas, right?" Sergej’s voice dripped with sarcasm. "You wanna dance, or what? You’re almost cute, playing her little knight in shining armor."
"How could you do that to her?" Bas snarled.
"Oh, come on, we both know she’s not as innocent as she acts."
Sergej smirked, his eyes flashing with malice. "I don’t know what she told you, but she wanted it. She wanted it back then, and she wanted it tonight."
"Shut the fuck up," Bas growled, his voice dangerously low.
"Why do you think she didn’t tell you?" Sergej continued, his smirk widening. "Because she didn’t want you to know what a little slut she really is—"
That was it.
Without hesitation, Bas shoved him with full force against the swing door behind him, which crashed open with a deafening bang.
"Ohh!" Gasps echoed around them.
Sergej stumbled backward, straight into the tent, onto the dance floor beneath the stage.
The music cut off abruptly as the two men lunged at each other.
Shocked voices filled the space.
Parents and guests turned, horrified, toward the scene.
The host, standing on stage mid-sentence, froze, his words catching in his throat.
________
"What the hell is happening?" someone shouted from the crowd.
Bas didn't register any of it.
His fist crashed against Sergej’s face, the impact drowned out by the horrified gasps of the guests.
Sergej staggered but recovered quickly. With unexpected agility, he ducked under Bas’s next punch, grabbed him around the waist, and slammed him against one of the elaborately decorated tables.
The massive chocolate fountain beside them wobbled dangerously, thick chocolate spilling onto the floor. Bas tore himself free from Sergej’s grip and kicked him back onto the dance floor with brutal force.
"You have no idea what you've done to her!" Bas growled, his voice raw with rage. His hands trembled, his guilt and anger raging uncontrollably inside him.
Sergej wiped the blood from his lip and laughed, his grin condescending, almost smug.
"What I did to her?" He scoffed. "Come on, Bas. Be honest. You’re just pissed because she wanted me more than she wanted you. You're pathetic."
The words fueled his rage. He lunged at Sergej again, throwing him to the ground with all his strength.
Sergej hit the floor hard, gasping for air, but he still didn't back down.
As Bas leaned over him, Sergej grabbed a plate from the overturned table and hurled it at him. The plate missed, shattering against the chocolate fountain.
The guests recoiled in horror. A few women screamed, but no one dared to step in yet. "Enough!" the announcer called from the stage, but his words were useless. “Security!”
“This isn’t enough,” Bas hissed, his voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with raw fury.
He had Sergej by the collar, his face dangerously close. “You will never come near her again. Never.” And then he hit him. Again and again.
But even with his bloodied face and weakened stance, Sergej chuckled quietly. "You're just a desperate little boy who thinks he can make a difference."
Sergej ripped himself from Bas’s grip, stumbling before grabbing a broken bottle lying near the chocolate fountain. His eyes were wild, his movements unpredictable. He lunged at Bas again.
Bas instinctively stepped back, but not fast enough. The sharp edge of the bottle sliced across his arm, leaving a burning sting and tearing through the fabric of his shirt. Blood seeped from the wound, but he barely felt it. His focus remained on Sergej.
Bas swung, but Sergej was quicker. With a brutal strike to Bas’s shoulder, he forced him down. Bas’s vision blurred as he struggled to get up, but before he could react, Sergej loomed over him, bottle raised high, ready to strike again.
"Somebody do something!" a woman cried in terror.
Before Sergej could land another blow, a sudden punch from the side sent him reeling. A fist crashed against his jaw with full force. Dominic.
Sergej stumbled, dropping the bottle, and before he could recover, Dominic hit him again—this time right at the temple, making him collapse onto the floor.
“That’s enough,” Dominic hissed, his gaze ice-cold, his chest rising and falling heavily.
“Damn, Bas. I expected more from you,” Dominic scoffed, reaching out a hand to help Bas up.
At that moment, several security guards pushed through the crowd, followed closely by Bas’s parents, their faces a mixture of shock and fury.
"Sebastian! What the hell is going on?" his father bellowed, forcing his way through the stunned guests.
One security guard pinned Sergej down as he weakly tried to get up, while another reached for Bas.
"Get off me!" Sergej snapped, but his protests were weak, and the guards held him firm.
Bas stood, leaning slightly on Dominic, his breathing ragged and uneven. Blood trickled from his arm, but he ignored the pain. His gaze remained locked on Sergej, his eyes burning with rage.
"Don’t worry," one of the security men assured him. "We’ve already called the police."
The guests, who had kept their distance, now murmured among themselves, the scene of broken glass, spilled chocolate, and blood speaking for itself.
Bas gave Sergej one last look, his breath heavy, his hands still shaking. But as Dominic grabbed his shoulder, he finally tore himself away from his rage.
"Let them handle it," Dominic said quietly but firmly.
Bas nodded, though reluctantly, and let Dominic guide him away from the chaos.
Out of breath, Bas reached for a nearby chair when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.
Evin.
Standing in the doorway.
__________
Evin
E vin stood frozen in the entrance.
The chaos before her unfolded like a torn curtain: Sergej, his face smeared with blood, being dragged out by security, and Bas, just a few meters away, standing with slumped shoulders, his hands clenched into fists.
His shirt was torn, dark blood seeping from a wound on his arm.
But that wasn’t what knocked the breath from her lungs.
It was his eyes, locking onto hers—an expression so raw, so intense that she felt even smaller than she already did.
He knows.
He knows everything now.
The thought drove into her chest like a searing thorn.
Her cheeks burned as shame spread through her, hot and suffocating.
What is he thinking about me now?
The anger he had aimed at Sergej just moments ago was gone, and somehow, that made it worse. There was no judgment in his gaze, no disgust—only something she couldn’t bear: pity.
Her fingers dug into the doorframe as her breath quickened. This wasn’t his battle. It shouldn’t be anyone’s battle. Panic clawed its way up her throat. If Bas knew, how long would it take before everyone else knew too? Her parents. The school. Everyone will know. And then…
She forced herself to look away, her eyes stinging. I should have been stronger. I should have hidden it better!
Even as shame clawed up her throat and settled behind her ribs like a second heartbeat, something underneath it moved—slow, molten, dangerous.
A feeling she wasn’t supposed to have. A thought too heavy to face and too loud to silence.
She hadn’t stopped him.
And she could have. God, she could have.
She had seen the way Bas lunged. The way his fists found Sergej’s face like they’d been waiting for that moment forever. She’d heard the voices yelling, the panic, the shuffle of feet—and she hadn’t moved.
Not because she was frozen. Not because she was in shock.
But because, for a split second, she wanted it.
Fuck , she wanted Sergej to feel something.
Not the pain of fists, maybe. But something that broke. Something that left a mark. Because what he had taken from her had never bruised her skin—but it had hollowed her out from the inside, and no one had ever seen it.
She should have screamed, should have stopped him, should have done the right thing, the civil thing, the strong thing.
But she didn’t.
Because in some twisted corner of her heart, she was tired. Tired of pretending she was fine. Tired of carrying it all alone. Tired of letting people like Sergej walk away untouched.
And in that moment, Bas hadn’t just fought for her. He had done what she never let herself do.
And that.. .
That made her feel seen.
And guilty.
And ashamed.
And so, so fucking grateful.
I need to leave…Now.
__________
Sebastian
T he room was still filled with uncertain glances, and the music had long since fallen silent.
Bas stood at the center of the tent, the chaos of the past few minutes pressing on his chest like a heavy weight.
Sergej was being led away by security, his face a mess of blood, yet the sarcastic smirk still clung to his lips.
Bas couldn’t shake the image. The guests’ gazes, ranging from shock to outright contempt, bore into him.
Before Bas could react, his father stepped forward. His posture was straight, his voice calm but firm as he addressed the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, scanning the room with a composed expression. “We apologize for the disturbance. This is a personal matter, and we will resolve it. Please, continue to enjoy the event.” He spoke with a quiet authority that left no room for dispute before turning to Bas’s mother.
“Take him outside,” he said quietly, but decisively.
She nodded, placing a hand on Bas’s back as she guided him out of the tent.
The cool night air hit him like a slap. His mother kept a steady grip on his arm, her finge rs pressing lightly but firmly.
“You’re bleeding,” she said calmly, but the tension in her voice was unmistakable. “We need to take care of that before it gets worse.”
Bas nodded silently, his gaze fixed on the ground. They led him to a secluded corner behind the tent, where a table with catering supplies stood. His mother waved over one of the staff members. “A first-aid kit, please. Quickly.”
While they waited, she pulled a tissue from her handbag and pressed it gently against the wound on his arm.
“You have no idea how much trouble you’ve just brought upon yourself,” she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the bleeding. “But we’ll handle it. Like always.”
Bas didn’t respond. The burning in his arm was nothing compared to the tightness in his chest. When the staff member returned with the first-aid kit, his mother began cleaning and dressing the wound.
Her movements were practiced, almost mechanical.
But then she hesitated, looked at him, and her voice softened.
“Bas,” she said gently, and for the first time, there was something unfamiliar in her tone.
Something that surprised him. “I know you mean well. I know you think you have to take responsibility for everything and everyone. But sometimes… sometimes you’re not helping anyone if you destroy yourself in the process. ”
Her words struck deep.
He felt the tension in his shoulders ease, and for a moment, he just looked at her, the hardness in his gaze unraveling.
“I don’t know what else to do,” he admitted finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t just stand by. I’ve let her down so many times.”
“Watching doesn’t mean doing nothing,” she said quietly. “And you didn’t have to carry this alone. You could have come to us.”
Bas swallowed hard, his throat burning. He nodded slowly.
“Thank you, Mom,” he murmured, his voice breaking slightly. For a moment, he felt like the kid he used to be, seeking comfort in his mother’s arms after a fall.
When she finish ed, she closed the kit and looked at him. “You’re going home now. No discussion.”
Bas hesitated before responding. “I will. But… I need to make sure Evin’s okay first.”