“Please,” I begged, tears already starting again. Just tell me the truth. I’ll believe whatever you say. Eonly trust you.”
“Sorry? Who is this?”
A woman’s voice Sweet, melodious, unfamiliar
My heart stopped
“Caely is in the shower right now and can t come to the phone. Can I take a message?”
Caely. Just like Camila called Darrell Kelly: An intimate, private name that only someone very close would use.
O O
The parallel was devastating. History repeating itself in the cruelest possible way. Another man I loved, another woman answering his phone, another betrayal that cut to the bone.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t process what I was hearing.
The woman on the other end was still talking, but her words sounded like they were coming from underwater.
Thung up.
The phone lay on the floor where I’d dropped it, that woman’s sweet voice still echoing in my head. “Caely is in the shower…”
I tried to convince myself but my treacherous mind wouldn’t listen. It painted picture after picture of their intimacy.
Caelan stepping out of the shower, water droplets on his skin. Elena waiting for him, her arms open. The two of them together in that hotel room, doing things we used to do…
I shook my head violently, trying to dislodge the images.
This had to be a mistake. Some kind of setup or misunderstanding.
There had to be an explanation. Maybe Elena was in trouble and he was helping her. Maybe the photos were taken out of context. Maybe-
My phone rang.
Caelan’s name flashed on the screen.
My heart leaped into my throat. I lunged for the device, snatching it up within one second.
“Caelan!” I smiled. “I knew you still cared about me. Where are you? Can you come see me? I’m at my apartment. I discharged myself today. I miss you so much.”
The words poured out in a rush, everything I’d been dying to say.
Silence stretched on the other end. When he finally spoke, his voice was ice.
“What gives you the right to ask me that? We broke up.”
The coldness in his tone hit me like a slap. But I pressed on, certain I could reach him.
“Caelan, you don’t have to lie to me anymore. I know what this is really about.” Tears started flowing again, making my voice thick and unsteady. “It’s my dad, isn’t it? He’s putting pressure on you, forcing you to leave me?”
“Sable-
“You’re worried about Lucian’s people coming after me again, so you think breaking up will keep me safe, right?” I was sobbing now, the words coming out in broken gasps. “That woman-Elena-you don’t really have anything with her. It’s all just for show, isn’t it?”
“You’re putting on an act to make me believe you don’t love me anymore, right? My voice cracked completely. “Because you think it’s the only way to protect me?’
Each word I spoke seemed to make me cry harder, until I could barely breathe between the sobs.
“Sable Crawford. Listen carefully. The photos online are real. Elena is the woman I’ve always truly loved. Like I told you before, you were just a game to me. Now that the woman I actually care about has returned, the choice is obvious, isn’t it?”
No. You’re lying to me. That’s not true.
“I don’t care,” I choked out. “I’ll let you play with my feelings. I’ll let you use me. Just please don’t leave me.”
A pause. When he spoke again, his voice carried a cruel satisfaction.
“You think rather highly of yourself, don’t you, Sable?”
Another pause.
“Oh, by the way, I haven’t formally rejected you yet. I, Caelan Blackwood, officially reject you as my mate.”
The mate bond snapped.
Pain beyond description tore through my body. It felt like every cell was being ripped apart, like my soul was being carved out with a rusty knife. I screamed and collapsed to the floor.
“Please don’t disturb us again.”
The line went dead.
I lay curled on the floor, shaking violently as the rejected mate bond sent aftershocks of pain through my system.
Us. He’d said us.
Even in my agony, that word cut deepest of all.
Hours later, I walked to the sofa and curled deeper into the sofa cushions, arms wrapped tight around the throw pillow like it might anchor me to something solid. The fabric felt rough against my cheek-every blink scraped like sandpaper, but sleep refused to come.
When exhaustion finally pulled me under, the dreams came anyway.
Caelan stood at an altar in a perfect black tuxedo, one arm curved around Elena Rosewood’s waist. Her wedding dress flowed like liquid ivory across marble steps.
“Sable, his voice carried that cold distance I’d heard only once before. “Thank you for coming to our wedding. I hope you can be happy for us.”
Elena’s smile was radiant, genuine. She looked like a woman who had everything she’d ever wanted.
In the dream, I was on my knees in muddy grass, reaching desperately for something just out of reach. My fingers clawed at empty air while sobs tore from my throat.
I jerked awake with tears streaming down my face. The couch cushion beneath my cheek was soaked.
I grabbed the device, heart hammering against my ribs. The notification bar stared back. No missed calls or texts from Caelan.
Was I really just a chess piece in his revenge game? Did he ever actually love me?
The next morning, my dad called me.
“Hello?” My voice came out like gravel.
Silence stretched for several heartbeats.
“Sable?” Dad’s tone shifted immediately. “You sound terrible. What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.”
“No.” His voice gentled in a way that nearly broke me. “Come home, sweetheart. Come home and rest for a few days.”
“Dad, I don’t need-
“This isn’t a suggestion Authority crept back into his words. I’m sending William to pick you up. Don’t argue with me.”
I closed my eyes, finally surrendering. “Okay.”
The car hadn’t even fully stopped when the manor’s front door burst open.
“Sablate!” Daisy exploded from the entrance like a tiny hurricane, her curls bouncing as she raced down the stone steps.
She crashed into my arms with enough force to nearly knock me over. I buried my face in her soft hair, breathing in her familiar scent of strawberry shampoo.
AU
Victoria appeared on the doorstep, moving more slowly but with the same warm smile. She wrapped her arms around both of us, her hand rubbing gentle circles on my back.
“You still have us, she murmured. Time heals everything, sweetheart.”
Daisy pulled back to study my face with those enormous eyes. Sissy, why are your eyes all red? And you have raccoon circles!”
1 smoothed her wild curls, managing a weak smile. Just didn’t sleep well, little monster.”
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