[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 260: Betrayal and Consequences

~Zayn’s POV~

Evric chuckled softly, sliding a hand around my waist. "We’re one, Zayn. And besides... did you forget? Nantam is friends with Evans. Dean is friends with me. We are all friends."

"Friends?" I repeated, the word sounding hollow given the tension that had just occurred.

Before Evric could respond, Dean turned toward the door. "I’ll get going now, guys. See you later." He gave us a brief nod before heading out.

"Okay," I replied quietly as he walked away.

With Dean gone, Evric gently sat me down and launched into the history lesson I hadn’t known I needed. He explained what he meant by the strange, overlapping alliances.

"When Evans first met you and you introduced your friends," Evric began, his voice low, "he immediately took an interest in Nantam, even before knowing he was Nicki’s brother. Evans told me how uninhibited Nantam was, and that it was actually Nantam who had invited him to your birthday party back then."

Evric continued, recounting Evans’s pursuit. "Evans, being Evans, after that night, they happened to run into each other again somewhere, and Evans decided to use the chance to tell Nantam how he felt. But Nantam instantly turned him down. He told Evans to back off, saying he had no interest. He gave Evans zero hope, which, ironically, made Evans like him even more."

"Evans asked Nantam why he turned him down, and Nantam told him he already had someone else he cared about. He made Evans promise never to mention his feelings again or tell you anything about it."

I listened, completely stunned.

"Later, when I finally told Evans that Nantam was Nicki’s brother," Evric explained, "Evans said it didn’t matter. He told me that if Nantam was ready to give him a chance, he was willing to try, without holding the past drama between me and Nicki against him."

Then came the time when Nicki was locked up. Evans, genuinely trying to be a friend and help, decided to visit Nantam. I’m not sure how he expected it to make sense to him, since Evans was technically the one who had him locked up. Still, he went to talk to Nantam.

He started gently, trying to reason. "Look, there’s nothing wrong with liking someone. You should just give it a chance."

Nantam shook his head. "Everything is wrong."

Evans didn’t give up. "I just want to be your friend."

Nantam crossed his arms. "I’ve had enough friends already."

"Evans persisted, telling him there was nothing wrong with liking someone and asking them to give it a try."

Nantam’s response was icy. "Do you even hear yourself, Evans? Your brother already dated my brother, and now you, the older one, want to date me? Interesting. I’m not interested—stop pursuing me."

"After the whole public scandal," Evric continued, his expression hardening, "Evans sat me down and shared everything he had noticed among your friends, especially Nantam. We both started to figure out that Nantam might be the one behind the anonymous threats. I confirmed my suspicion the night you wanted to meet your friends, and I insisted on coming."

"The time when Thorley was touching me at the bar, and you got angry?" Evric continued. "I was paying attention to Nantam. I could see he wasn’t looking at you with just friendship, there was a deep love and possessive love meant only for you. But it was twisted, misplaced, and fueled by the sense of betrayal he felt. It was intense, toxic, and completely wrong."

"Then, just before Nantam went to turn himself in," Evric whispered, tension threading his voice, "he called Evans. He confessed everything he had done and asked Evans to plead with us for forgiveness."

"Evans asked him, ’If Zayn hasn’t said he wants you locked up, why are you going to report yourself?’"

"Nantam’s response was cold and unsettling. He admitted he hated the idea that Evans might be the one to hand him over to the authorities."

"Evans said, ’What?’ but Nantam just hung up. Evans concluded that the ’bad mouth’ ran in their family; Nantam might not be loud like Nicki, but he definitely had the same malicious streak."

"So, Evans said he already made a call, but since Nantam was the one who decided to face the consequences, we just allowed him to sleep there first."

I stared at Evric, completely bewildered by everything he’d just explained. "None of this makes any sense. If Evans really liked Nantam, why didn’t he stop him from turning himself in?"

Evric let out a dry, weary laugh. "You should know your friend better than anyone else, babe. Evans couldn’t stop him. The only person who might have been able to stop him was you—but even then, Nantam was wrong, so he did the right thing."

"So... should we head over there now?" he asked, glancing toward the door.

I hugged Evric, pulling myself closer. "I don’t want to see him right now."

Evric hugged me back, his hand sliding down my back in a soothing motion. "I know, my love. Let him stay there for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll all go and see what happens next."

The next morning, my phone rang. It was an officer from the local precinct. I was being invited down for questioning regarding Nantam’s self-reported criminal behavior.

After the call ended, I faced Evric, my voice steady but resolute. "I’m not ready to go there yet or confront Nantam," I said. "Since he chose to turn himself in, he can face the consequences on his own. I’ll only go when I’m mentally and emotionally ready."

A few minutes later, Evric’s phone rang. It was Evans, who had tried to help Nantam by offering legal counsel. Nantam had refused, insisting he didn’t need any help and pretending he didn’t know Evans.

Evric went to work as planned; he had a major meeting scheduled. I followed him there, not wanting to be home alone. I sat in his office, reading files, trying to process the emotional exhaustion of the last few days.

After Evric was done for the day, we headed home. On the way, I realized I needed several items, so I directed Evric to a high-end grocery store near my apartment. Our car was parked, and we stepped outside, the cool evening air a welcome change from the stale office climate.

We were walking toward the entrance when I heard it: a familiar voice calling my name.

"Zayn?"

I turned to see a young woman stepping out of her car. Her face shifted from surprise to shock the moment our eyes met. It was Meera, my ex-girlfriend, the one whose betrayal had been manipulated by Nantam.