Eric peeked out, scanning the hallway.
I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to stay perfectly still. After a moment, he shut the door again.
I didn’t wait.
I rushed back to my room, hands shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. My laptop was gone. My novel—three years of my life—gone with it.
But now I knew something worse.
This wasn’t random.
This was planned.
I sat on the edge of the bed, forcing myself to think. Panic wouldn’t help me. Not now.
Lana.
My best friend of twenty years.
The one who dragged me here.
The one who knew exactly how much that novel meant to me.
And Eric… Eric wasn’t some charming stranger.
He was part of this.
I wiped my tears, stood up, and did the only thing I could think of:
I went back.
But this time, I didn’t hesitate.
I knocked.
Hard.
Silence.
Then Lana’s voice, overly sweet: “Just a second!”
The door opened, and there she was—smiling like nothing was wrong.
“Oh! You’re up early—”
“Where is it?” I cut in.
Her smile faltered. “Where is what?”
“My laptop.”
Eric stepped into view behind her, calm as ever. Too calm.
“I think you’re confused,” he said smoothly.
That’s when something inside me snapped.
“No,” I said, my voice steady now. “I’m not confused. I heard you.”
Silence fell like a dropped curtain.
Lana’s expression changed first. The softness disappeared. What replaced it… I didn’t recognize.
“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” she said quietly.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why would you do this to me?”
She exhaled slowly, like she’d been holding it in for a long time.
“Because you were going to throw it all away,” she said.
“What?”
“Your book,” she continued. “You were this close to finishing it, and instead you were spiraling. Hiding. Giving up.”
Eric crossed his arms but didn’t interrupt.
“So you stole it?” I shot back. “You hired him to distract me?”
Lana hesitated.
“…Yes.”
The word hit harder than anything else.
“You don’t get it,” she said, stepping closer. “I sent your manuscript.”
My breath caught.
“To who?”
She swallowed. “To a publisher.”
The room spun.
“What?!”
“You wouldn’t do it,” she said. “You kept saying it wasn’t ready, that no one would care. But I read it. It’s incredible.”
I looked at Eric. “And you?”
He sighed. “I was supposed to keep you busy. That’s it.”
“Busy?” I laughed bitterly. “That’s what you call it?”
He looked away. For the first time, he actually seemed uncomfortable.
“I didn’t expect…” he started, then stopped.
“Didn’t expect what?” I demanded.
“…to actually like you.”
That only made it worse.
I turned back to Lana. “Give it back. Now.”
She nodded toward the dresser. My laptop sat there.
I rushed to it, opening it with trembling hands.
Everything was still there.
Every word.
Every chapter.
Every piece of me.
A notification popped up on the screen.
An email.
Unread.
From a publishing house.
My fingers hovered before I clicked it.
Then I opened it.
We would like to discuss your manuscript…
I couldn’t breathe.
They wanted it.
They actually wanted it.
Tears filled my eyes, but this time, they weren’t from heartbreak.
They were from something else entirely.
I looked up at Lana.
“You should’ve trusted me,” I said quietly.
“I know,” she whispered. “But I needed you to believe in yourself.”
I grabbed my laptop and walked toward the door.
“And him?” I asked, glancing at Eric.
Lana didn’t answer.
He did.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I paused… just for a second.
Then I kept walking.
Some betrayals break you.
Others… force you to finally see your own worth.
And as I stepped out into the sunlight, one thing became clear:
I didn’t lose everything on that island.
I found the one thing I had forgotten—
Myself.