Chapter 103
+25 Points
The front door felt heavy in my hand, I was mentally and physically exhausted. I pushed it stepping inside in the hoping for just a few minutes of quiet.
All I wanted was to breathe, to calm the storm inside me, before I had to go pick up Marco.
But peace wasn’t waiting for me.
The first thing I saw was Marco, playing with toy cars on the rug in the living room. My heart always lifted when I saw him, no matter how bad I felt. He looked up, his face lighting up. “Mommy!” he shouted, dropping a red car and scrambling to his feet.
Before I could even properly smile back, a deeper voice cut through the air. “Well, look who decided to show up.”
My blood ran cold. Astor. He was here. He stood by the fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes looked cold as ice.
I swallowed hard, trying to act normal. “Astor,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “When did you get home? I wasn’t expecting you.”
He didn’t soften. Not even a little. His gaze was pinning me down. “More than an hour ago.” he said, and his voice was low, dangerous. “I’ve been looking for you. For over an hour. You’ve been nowhere to be found. Nobody has seen you since morning. We couldn’t even scent you
anywhere.”
I just stared at him, my mind racing. What could I say? He already knew. He seemed to look like his suspected it.
I turned away, heading towards the stairs, hoping to escape before this conversation got any worse. “I just…”
“Mommy, we already made dinner!” Marco’s innocent voice stopped me. He tugged at me, his little face full of excitement. “Daddy helped me! It’s your favorite!”
Dinner. Right. My stomach twisted. The last thing I wanted to do was sit across from Astor, pretending everything was fine, pretending I wasn’t falling apart. But Marco deserved a normal evening.
I knelt down, kissing his forehead softly. His skin was warm and soft against my lips. “Oh, my sweet boy,” I murmured, forcing a small smile. “That sounds wonderful. I just… I want to freshen up for a few minutes. I’ll be down in a couple of minutes, okay?”
He beamed, his smile so pure it almost broke my heart. “Okay, Mommy!”
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< Chapter 103
+25 Points
He let me go then, and I practically fled up the stairs, straight to my bedroom. The door closed behind me with a soft thud that sounded deafening in the silence. My knees felt weak. My breath was catching in my throat. I couldn’t face him. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Not with what I was willing to do to get my daughter.
I turned the water on full blast, letting the water fall down on me. I sank to the floor of the shower, pulling my knees to my chest, letting the water run over my hair, my face, washing away the dirt, the fear, and hopefully the Sins I was about to commit. I just sat there, water flowing around me, trying to drown out the noise in my head.
I sensed him before I saw him. The air in the bathroom shifted. A familiar scent, a heavy presence. Astor. He was here. I didn’t move. I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t say a word. I just sat, letting the water pound me, my back to him, knowing he was standing there, watching me. I felt him lean against the doorframe, his power filling the small space.
“You met Kyle,” he said, his voice flat, no question in it. A statement of fact.
I kept quiet. What was the point? To lie? I couldn’t. Not to him, not truly. But to tell him the truth? To explain what Kyle had said? I didn’t have the energy. My bones felt heavy, my mind numb. And honestly, I felt like he didn’t even deserve to know. He wouldn’t believe me anyway.
“I told you,” his voice was strained now, edged with something that sounded like controlled anger. “I told you to talk to me if there were any developments. Not to act alone. But you went. You went to meet Kyle. Knowing how dangerous he is. God knows what he could have done to you.”
The water was starting to get cold, but I didn’t care. “I didn’t tell you,” I finally managed to say,
my
voice raspy, “because you would have told me I was paranoid.”
He scoffed. A harsh, disbelieving sound and in n my mind I could see the look of disbelief, the slight sneer on his face. “Stop, Faith,” he said, his voice rising a little. “Stop with the insecurities. Stop trying to blame Alice for everything.”
That was it. That was the crack. The final break. My body stiffened, and I slowly pushed myself up, finally turning to face him. Water streamed down my face, mingling with what I knew were tears, though I wouldn’t let him see them. He stood there, leaning against the doorframe, his eyes burning into mine, his face a mask of frustration and something else I couldn’t quite name.
“It’s because of that very thought,” I said, my voice shaking but firm, “that I will never tell you what Kyle said. Never. You think I’m paranoid. You think I’m insecure. You think I’m blaming Alice for everything. Well, fine. Believe that.” I took a step towards him, the cold water still clinging to my skin, making me shiver, but it wasn’t from the cold. “From now on,” I continued, my voice gaining strength, “I will find my daughter on my own.”
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His eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise, or maybe fear, crossing them.
*25 Points
“And let me make it perfectly clear,” I said, my voice now a whisper, but one filled with steel. “The only reason I am still here, in this house, is because I want to find my daughter. And because my son deserves to know and be with his father.” I looked him straight in the eye, letting all my pain, all my shattered trust, show. “I want you to go back to Alice. And your daughter. Because you have more loyalty towards them. You obviously do and I don’t want a man who cannot trust me without proof. That relationship will never work.”
He pushed off the wall, finally moving, taking a step towards me. His face was etched with tje kind of pain that mirrored my own, but I refused to give in. “What you want will never happen,” he said, his voice rough. “I have already marked you, Faith. You are my true mate. You can never break the mate bond.”
I laughed harshly and humorlessly. “Oh, but you can,” I countered, my eyes burning into his. “By rejecting your mate.” The words felt like acid on my tongue, but they had to be said. “I know people say it’s the most excruciating pain that can break a wolf. But I’m willing to go through it, Astor.” I met his gaze, unflinching. “And I hope you’re ready for it as well.”
A wave of agony crashed over me. I felt it. His wolf’s pain, a deep, guttural howl of despair, ripping through my own being. And his pain, raw and human, like a physical blow to my chest. It hurt. Oh, God, it hurt so much. It was like every cell in my body was screaming, protesting against the very idea. But as much as it hurt me, a part of me, a broken, angry part,
still didn’t care.
He broke my pride. He broke my trust. And he will continue to do it, over and over, if I didn’t put a stop to it right now. This time, I will not run. This time, I will face it.
“I don’t understand what you want,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, his eyes wide with a confusion that felt fake, or maybe just willful blindness. “It’s hard to believe that Alice could be capable of something like that.”
My jaw clenched. That was it. That was always it. He couldn’t believe me. He Korean take my word for it even once “What I want,” I said, my voice cold now, devoid of any warmth, “is for you to believe me. But you’re incapable of it.” I gestured towards the door. “So, I want you to go. Now. I have more important things to do.”
He took another step, his hand reaching out, almost touching my arm, but I flinched away. “Faith,” he pleaded, his eyes desperate. “I don’t want to lose you anymore.”
My eyes, still stinging from the shower water and the unshed tears, met his. There was a finality in my voice, a cold, hard truth that even I was surprised to hear. “You have already lost
me.”
