I froze the moment Serena said those words, my head snapping toward her. She was staring down at me, her eyes brimming with tears, and
as I looked at her, I could see it–guilt and pain. That was all she felt, Guilt for what she had done. Pain for betraying me.
She was scared, yes but it wasn’t fear for her own safety that consumed her.
No.
What seemed to hurt her more was the fact that I had found out.
“Serena…“I breathed, my voice barely a whisper, eyes brimming with tears as I stared at her.
I wanted to ask her–why? Why would she admit it so easily? Wasn’t she afraid of what they might do to her? She could have lied… I had already started covering for her, but she had still confessed without hesitation.
All I could hear was the loud pounding of my heartbeat as tears streamed down Serena’s cheeks and she spoke again, voice trembling.
“I gave the guard the Ashvein… and paid him not to tell anyone. I told him to give it to the rogue who later died during the interrogation.” She reached out and touched her chest. “I did all of that. Everything was my fault. But I’m not afraid of the consequences of my actions. I knew this would be revealed sooner or later. That’s why I didn’t say anything, I was just hoping to spend a little more time with my miss before I was caught. Because I knew that when I was… the miss would hate me for what I did. But instead, she…”
Her voice cracked as more tears spilled down her cheeks and she fell to the ground.
“Instead, miss still believed in me. I’m really sorry, miss. I’m so sorry for what I did,” she said, apologizing through broken sobs.
The entire room fell into silence, the only sound echoing was Serena’s loud, sharp cries. My eyes widened in a daze as I watched her reach out and clutch my legs. She looked up at me, trembling, her voice cracking as she stammered:
“I–I didn’t mean to betray you, my lady. I swear I didn’t. I just wanted to protect you–to keep you happy but everything got out of control and I couldn’t, I couldn’t…”
Her words trailed off, the rest caught in her throat as she broke down completely, lowering her head in shame.
My heart pounded, aching almost painfully, and before I realized what I was doing, a tear slipped down my cheek, then another. I found myself crying as her words echoed in my head.
She had given the guard Ashvein… to protect me? To make me happy?
What did she mean by that?
I didn’t know. But I was sure of one thing, Serena had to have a reason. She would never deliberately take someone’s life. That girl couldn’t even hurt a fly.
I had to understand why she did it. Maybe, just maybe if I found the truth, I could still protect her.
So I took a deep breath, reached out, and held her trembling hands in mine. I parted my lips, ready to ask the question but before a single word could leave my mouth, a cold voice cut through the air.
A voice I knew too well. One that sent a sharp chill down my spine.
“I doubt you got your hands on the Ashvein alone. So, who gave it to you?”
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12:44 Thu, 7 Aug 0
Chapter 145
I stiffened, my eyes flickering to him, Darius standing right behind Cassian and Drake. I could see the surprise on their faces as they turned around, Cassian gasping and slapping a hand over his mouth, clearly not realizing that Darius had been behind them all this time.
Darius didn’t spare them a glance. His chilling gaze remained fixed on the crying Serena on the floor, hands casually tucked into his pockets.
And just then, to my surprise, three more figures stepped into view behind Darius.”
I blinked, staring at them and felt my breath hitch.
It was my father… and standing right beside him were his Beta and Gemma.
“Father…” The word slipped out of my mouth breathlessly. His eyes flickered to me for just the briefest moment, his lips tugging into a slight frown when he saw me, before shifting his gaze to Serena.
The moment their eyes met, she visibly shuddered. Her cries grew louder as she dropped her head in shame, unable to meet my father’s
eyes.
My father’s frown deepened, and I could see the disappointment in Benjamin and Calen’s eyes but none of them said a word.
No one dared to speak with Darius present.
“I asked you a question, she–wolf,” Darius said again, his voice cold and emotionless.
“Who gave you the Ashvein? Someone must have ordered you to do it, isn’t that right?” he asked, and Serena trembled at the sound of his
voice.
He hadn’t even released a hint of his aura, yet the weight in the room was suffocating. Even my father swallowed nervously, his eyes glued to
Darius’s back.
Serena must have realized Darius wasn’t the type of man to repeat himself. Something in her must have told her to answer because in the next second, she stopped crying, her eyes wide with fear as she opened her mouth, ready to speak the name of the person responsible.
But I knew, even if she said the name, Darius still might not pardon her.
And before she could speak, before I could even stop myself, the words blurted out of my mouth.
“I’m the one who asked her to do it! I am the one who asked her to give Ashvein to the guard” I pointed to myself, my eyes fixed on Darius with a determined expression and as he held my gaze, I repeated.
“I was the one who ordered her to do it”
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