Twisted Alpha
“The Algorithm of Betrayal”
1. Opening: A Disturbing Déjà Vu
At eighteen, Evelyn learned what it meant to be humiliated online. The boy she once liked had secretly created a private Facebook group centered around her — a digital shrine of obsession filled with disturbing posts, comments about her body, her looks, and even stolen photos.
The boy’s warped “affection” and mockery were confined to that secret group, but when Evelyn discovered it, it shattered her sense of safety. What was meant to be youthful love turned into a violation of privacy and trust. The betrayal drove her into a deep depression, one that would shadow her into adulthood.
That trauma becomes the quiet foundation of this chapter — a digital wound that never fully healed.
2. The Beginning of Something New
Years later, when Evelyn is twenty-two, she attends a party and meets Cyrus Hill for the first time.
Charming, charismatic, and intelligent, Cyrus seems to embody everything she’d wanted but never had — someone older, stable, mature. Yet fate has an odd sense of humor. During that party, someone casually mentions Evelyn’s past Facebook scandal — the very thing she wanted to forget.
After that night, something strange begins to happen. Every post Cyrus makes on Facebook feels personal, as though he’s speaking directly to her — subtle references, private jokes, small details about her life. It feels like he’s reaching out digitally, crafting a private language visible only to her.
3. The Digital Romance
Evelyn, touched and intrigued, allows herself to believe in him. The relationship blossoms — online at first, then offline.
Her words to him are half-playful, half-serious:
“Cyrus, if you ever stop liking me, at least tell Facebook to quit showing me your updates. Let’s try to end things with some dignity, not with radio silence.”
The line becomes symbolic — her plea for honesty and respect.
Over the next five years, Cyrus’s social media turns into a timeline of their love story:
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Pictures of her playing with their cat.
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Her laughter caught mid-frame.
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Snapshots of her sleeping in his arms.
To Evelyn, every post is proof — digital evidence of devotion. She truly believes this man is The One.
But as with most illusions, the cracks appear quietly.
4. The Discovery
Six months after they marry, Evelyn’s world collapses again.
One night, a drunk friend passes out at her apartment. Trying to return the friend’s phone, Evelyn accidentally opens Facebook — and what she sees makes her heart stop.
There are no posts about her from Cyrus on her friend’s feed.
No couple photos.
No captions she’s used to seeing.
The posts that she thought everyone could see — the ones that made her feel loved and publicly cherished — only existed for her.
Evelyn’s mind reels. She confronts Cyrus.
5. The Confrontation
Cyrus doesn’t deny it — he rationalizes it. His tone is cold, almost mocking:
“Evelyn, come on, we’re adults now. We’re almost thirty. Facebook is full of business partners and work contacts. It wouldn’t look good.”
He dismisses her pain as immaturity. When she pushes further, he deflects again, twisting her emotions:
“You’re not a teenage girl anymore. Do I really need to write you long love notes? Vivian said the same thing — you’re being overly sensitive. I just wanted to test you a little.”
Vivian.
The name lands like a slap — his childhood friend, always around, always too close.
Evelyn’s realization is brutal: all those posts weren’t acts of love; they were part of another manipulation.
Her voice breaks when she says she doesn’t need grand gestures — all she wants is his signature on the divorce papers.
6. The Breakdown
Cyrus’s only response is irritation.
“Evelyn, calm down. Get a grip on yourself!”
The argument escalates. Evelyn’s chest tightens, panic rising until she can’t breathe. She clings to a railing, gasping like someone drowning in invisible water.
Her phone is still on — the call still connected — but Cyrus doesn’t speak.
He lets her sob and choke in silence, emotionally detached.
Only after her breathing evens out does he finally say:
“Don’t be so dramatic, Evelyn. It’s not that big of a deal.”
The words cut deeper than any insult. Evelyn’s tears fall uncontrollably — not just for the betrayal, but for the coldness of the man she once thought was her forever.
7. Echoes of the Past
In that moment, the past and present blur. She feels the same sick helplessness she once felt at eighteen — when she realized she was the subject of someone’s private mockery online.
Cyrus, like that boy, has toyed with her emotions, turning her into content — a project, a test, a source of ego.
The only difference now is that Evelyn understands the pattern.
She no longer blames herself. The pain transforms into clarity.
8. The Hospital Scene
Her emotional and physical breakdown leads to respiratory poisoning — she’s hospitalized, weak, barely breathing. Cyrus’s response is indifferent, even cruel:
“Just come back already. You’re still Mrs. Hill, for god’s sake. It’s embarrassing for people to see you like this. ‘Respiratory poisoning’? Seriously?”
Those are the last words he ever says to her.
He doesn’t visit.
He doesn’t care.
To him, her illness is an inconvenience — not a crisis.
9. The Discovery of Vivian
Lying in her hospital bed, Evelyn replays one name in her head: Vivian Valtor — Cyrus’s childhood friend.
Using her photographic memory, she recalls Vivian’s Instagram handle and searches for her account.
When she finds it, everything clicks.
There, buried between the photos, are posts dripping with flirtation — captions and images echoing the same tone Cyrus once used with her.
Then comes the final blow — a post from Vivian herself:
“Managing someone else’s Facebook is so hard! But hey, my writing game just got stronger.”
Attached to it is a screenshot of Evelyn’s restricted group.
It wasn’t even Cyrus writing those posts.
It was Vivian — ghostwriting his affection, mocking Evelyn behind her back.
The entire relationship — five years of what she thought was love — turns out to be a performance scripted by someone else.
10. The Collapse and Awakening
As the truth sinks in, Evelyn’s body reacts violently — the pain in her chest returns, her oxygen levels plummet, and doctors rush to strap an oxygen mask over her face.
Her fingers turn pale, her breathing shallow. She whispers Cyrus’s name over and over, but now it feels poisonous — a word she has to expel from her lungs to survive.
“I used to call his name out of love,” she thinks.
“Now it tastes like hate.”
That line captures her transformation — from a naive lover to a woman reborn in betrayal.
11. Themes and Symbolism
Digital Deception and Manipulation
Both of Evelyn’s traumas revolve around social media as a weapon — first used to humiliate her, then to control her perception of love. It shows how technology can become an emotional prison, distorting reality.
Isolation and Gaslighting
Cyrus’s calm cruelty — calling her dramatic, dismissing her pain — mirrors emotional abuse. He isolates her emotionally while publicly maintaining a façade of a perfect marriage.
Identity and Self-Worth
Evelyn’s struggle reflects the battle between external validation (likes, posts, appearances) and internal truth. Her journey is about reclaiming her self-worth outside digital illusions.
Female Anger and Awakening
By the end, Evelyn transforms her suffering into clarity and fury. The last lines hint not at defeat but awakening — she’s no longer the naive girl who accepts manipulation quietly.
12. Closing Reflection: The End of Naivety
The chapter closes on Evelyn’s internal monologue — calm yet burning with vengeance:
“He could’ve ended things with dignity. But he chose this. He still thought I was that naive little girl. But I wasn’t that naive wife-in-waiting anymore.”
These words mark the emotional threshold of the story. The innocent, trusting Evelyn has died. What rises in her place is a woman who sees through every layer of deceit — someone ready to reclaim her life, her identity, and her story.
