Stigma Love's Algorithm [ A BTS x Reader Poly ]

Chapter 43: The Truth That Breaks Us ⚠️

Yoongi shakes.
His entire body is vibrating with rage, barely contained.

His chest rises and falls in sharp, erratic breaths, his fingers digging into his knees so tightly I'm afraid he might draw blood.

But then Taehyung keeps going.

"They locked me in my room. No food. No water. For days."

"Tae," I choke out, clutching him tighter.
His body trembles.

"I almost believed them," he admits, voice small. "That no one would care if I left."

Yoongi inhales sharply.
A jagged, uneven breath-
Like he's trying, and failing, to keep himself from falling apart.

I reach for him with my free hand, gripping his wrist.

He's shaking.
Trying so hard to keep it together.
Trying so hard not to lose himself in his own rage.

Taehyung exhales-
And then-"I lied."

Yoongi and I both snap our heads up, breathless.

"I told them I understood. That I'd be obedient. That I wouldn't fight back anymore." He swallows hard.

"And that night... I ran."

Yoongi's grip on him tightens.
His entire body coils, like he's holding himself back from destroying something.

"I had nothing," Taehyung murmurs. "No money. No place to go. I was alone."

I shake my head, my chest aching.

"But Jiwon..."
His voice wavers.

"My best friend. He and his family... they took me in."
A shuddering breath.

"They hid me."

I let out a quiet, broken sob.

"They saved me."

And finally-
Finally-
Taehyung breaks completely.

He collapses into us, his sobs wrecking through him-loud, raw, gasping.

Like he's spent years holding this in.
Like it's too much-too big-to contain anymore.

Yoongi doesn't hold back anymore.

His arms wrap tightly around Taehyung, his face pressing into his hair, his own body trembling as if he's trying to absorb the pain, to take it away.

I bury my face in his shoulder, whispering his name over and over like a prayer.

And we hold him.
We hold him through every sob.

Through every gasp.
Through every broken, shaking moment.

We hold him like we can put him back together.
Like our love alone can rewrite his past.

And then-Yoongi, voice shaking with pure, unfiltered emotion, whispers-
"They will pay for this."

And this time-
There is no doubt.

Because they will.
We will make sure of it.

Taehyung is still trembling in our arms.

His sobs have quieted into something smaller now, but his breathing is still ragged, still uneven-like he's struggling to remember where he is.

Like a part of him is still trapped there.

Yoongi and I hold him tighter.
We press into him, grounding him, surrounding him, letting him feel us-warm and solid and here.

He is not there anymore.
He is here.