Chapter 318
Chapter 318:
“He’s in the study,” Marcus whispered, his hand trembling as he pointed toward the heavy oak doors. “He won’t let anyone else in p>
I didn’t wait for them. I pushed the doors open.
The study, once a sanctuary of calculated power, was now a command center of chaos. Files were strewn across the mahogany floor like fallen leaves. Multiple monitors hummed on the desk, their blue light casting ghostly shadows across the walls.
Braydon stood in the center of it all. His hair was wild, his shirt unbuttoned, and his hazel eyes burned with a manic fever.
“Adella,” he breathed, a twisted smile breaking across his face. He gestured grandly to the screens. “Look. Look at what I’m doing for you p>
I stepped inside, the heavy door clicking shut behind me. The air smelled of ozone, dust, and the acrid scent of a wolf spiraling into madness.
“You aren’t doing this for me, Braydon,” I said, my voice steady, cutting through the hum of the hard drives.
𝖶𝖾 𝗎𝗉𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗄 𝗈𝗇
“I am!” He rushed around the desk, pointing at a scrolling list of names. “The silver trade. The Rogue pacts. I’m burning it all down. The Council will strip my father of his title. They’ll execute the Parrish leadership. I’m giving you justice p>
I looked at the screen, then back at him. I felt nothing. No gratitude. No vindication. Only a cold, hollow pity.
“Dallas and the Council have already sentenced them,” I said quietly. “Your chaos is meaningless. It’s a tantrum, not a strategy p>
Braydon flinched as if I had slapped him. “A tantrum? I am destroying my life for you! I am proving that I love you more than he ever could! Does he destroy worlds for you, Adella? Does he p>
“No,” I replied, my gaze unwavering. “He builds them. He stands in front of me as a shield, not around me as a cage p>
“A cage?” Braydon laughed — a brittle, cracking sound. “I wanted to protect you! I wanted to make you a Queen p>
“You didn’t want to help me. You wanted to own me,” I countered, stepping closer until I was just out of his reach. “A beautiful, broken pet on your leash. You loved my weakness because it made you feel strong p>
Braydon’s face crumpled. He backed away, hitting the edge of his desk. His hand hovered over the keyboard. On the main screen, a file blinked in the blue glow, waiting for a single keystroke to broadcast.
“If I send this,” he whispered, his voice trembling, “they will kill me. And you will never forget me. I will be the ghost that haunts you forever p>
“If you send that,” I said, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper, “I will not mourn you. I will not remember you as a martyr. I will remember you as a coward who couldn’t handle rejection. I will hate you, Braydon. And I will never, ever forgive you p>
His hand shook. Tears welled in his eyes and spilled over his cheeks. He looked so young suddenly, stripped of his Alpha arrogance.