Chapter 274
Chapter 274:
I took a deep breath and looked at Ryder. He hadn’t moved since Isabelle’s parting words. His fists were trembling, his shoulders stiff with tension, and his eyes—those eyes that usually held steadfast assurance—were hollow, lost.
That awkward tension, where a pin drop could be heard, existed between us, and I knew he was lost in his thoughts, perhaps still drowning in the memory of Isabelle.
“You okay?” I finally asked, my voice low.
He didn’t respond. He just stared at the floor, as though the answers he sought were buried beneath the cold marble. I knew that look; it was the look of a man fighting demons no one else could see.
“Ryder,” I said, a little sharper this time.
His head snapped up, and for a split second, I saw the raw pain flicker across his face before he buried it beneath that icy exterior. He didn’t want anyone to see it, not even me. But I’d been his Beta, his best friend, for too long to miss it.
“Was she right?” I asked quietly, the words tasting like lead. “About what you did to her?” Maybe this wasn’t the best way to go about it, but it was the first question I could actually think of.
His eyes darkened, his jaw tightening even more. “I don’t want to talk about it p>
Of course, he didn’t. Ryder never wanted to talk about the things that cut too close to the bone. But silence wouldn’t erase the damage. Not this time.
“You know she wasn’t always like this,” I said. The words hung between us, dangerous and unspoken until now. “She wasn’t always a monster, Ryder p>
His glare was sharp enough to cut steel. “She tried to kill Jasmine. She conspired with rogues. She crossed a line that she can’t come back from p>
I nodded. “Yeah, she did. And she deserves to pay for that p>
I hesitated, knowing I was about to cross a line myself. But someone had to say it. Someone had to be the voice of reason in this mess, even if it cost me.
𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 g𝓪𝗅𝗇𝓸ν𝓮𝗅𝓈﹐ⅽ𝗼𝗺
“But you played a part in this too,” I continued. “You pushed her away, Ryder. You took everything she gave you and left her empty. She loved you for years, and you acted like it didn’t matter p>
He flinched, just a tiny movement, but it was enough. A crack in his armor. A confirmation that deep down, he knew the truth.
“It wasn’t that simple,” he muttered, his voice strained. “I never promised her p>
“You didn’t have to,” I cut him off, my voice firm. “You knew how she felt. You let her believe there was a chance, and when Jasmine came into the picture, you destroyed that chance without a second thought p>
He took a step toward me, his eyes blazing with anger, but I didn’t back down. This was the conversation we should’ve had long ago. Maybe if we had, none of this would be happening now.
“I’m not excusing what she did,” I said. “I’m not asking you to forgive her. But don’t stand here and pretend you didn’t help turn her into this p>
The tension between us was a live wire, sizzling and ready to snap. But Ryder didn’t respond. He just turned away, his shoulders heaving with the effort of holding himself together.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “You know what the worst part is?” I asked, my voice softer now. “She still loves you. Even after everything, that twisted, broken part of her still loves you. And that’s what destroyed her p>
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The silence said it all.
I turned toward the door, my heart heavy with the weight of everything unsaid. Isabelle was in the dungeons, alone with the consequences of her actions. But Ryder… Ryder was trapped in his own prison, one made of guilt, regret, and choices he couldn’t take back.