Chapter 319
Chapter 319:
“If I stop…” he choked out. “If I stop, will you stay p>
“No,” I said. The truth hung in the air, sharp and absolute.
He let out a sob, his fingers curling into a fist away from the keyboard. “Then what do I have p>
“You have your life,” I said softly. “And if you stop now, I will, eventually, forgive you p>
It was a mercy he didn’t deserve, but it was the only key to unlock the standoff.
𝗥e𝘢𝗱 𝘁𝗁𝗲 𝘭а𝘁𝖾𝘴t t𝗿е𝗻𝘥s o𝗇
Braydon stared at me, searching for a lie and finding only the calm resolve of a woman he no longer recognized. With a shuddering breath, he reached for the phone on his desk instead of the keyboard. He dialed a number, his voice cracking as he spoke.
“Cancel the upload. Wipe the drive p>
The tension in the room snapped. The door burst open, and Victoria and Marcus rushed in, sobbing with relief as they embraced their broken son.
I watched them for a moment — a tableau of a family that had survived, but at the cost of their pride. Then I turned to leave.
“Adella,” Victoria wept, looking up at me from where she knelt on the floor. “Thank you. Thank you p>
I paused, my hand on the brass doorknob. I looked down at the woman who had once sneered at my lack of a wolf.
“Teach him how to lose, Victoria,” I said coldly. “Before someone else teaches him how to die p>
“He doesn’t love you like I do!” Braydon shouted suddenly, his voice muffled by his mother’s shoulder — a last, desperate attempt to claw his way back into my heart.
I didn’t turn around. I didn’t need to see him to know he was broken.
“He loves the Luna I am becoming,” I said, my voice echoing in the silent hallway. “You only ever loved the broken, wolfless girl you thought you could keep in a cage p>
I walked out of the study and let the heavy doors swing shut on the sobbing of the Hyde family.
The night air outside was crisp and clean, scrubbing the scent of decay from my skin. At the end of the gravel driveway, beneath the sprawling shadow of an ancient oak, a black SUV sat idling. Its headlights were off, but the engine purred with a low, predatory rumble.
Dallas.
My heart skipped — not in fear, but in recognition. My mate.
I walked down the steps, my heels clicking on the stone, each step carrying me further from the girl I used to be and closer to the woman I chose to become. I didn’t look back at the manor. I simply opened the car door and climbed into the darkness where he was waiting.
Dallas
The heavy door of the SUV clicked shut, sealing us inside a cocoon of leather and silence. As the driver pulled away from the decaying grandeur of the Hyde Estate, I didn’t look back at the manor. I only looked at her.