~ ROSELLE ~

I can’t stop running, even as he calls my name. My heart pounds so violently it hurts. It fucking hurts. It fucking hurts.

Fuck. I have no idea where I’m running, but I know one thing, I can’t go back to our room. If I do, he’ll corner me, and then we’ll have to talk. I don’t want to talk. I just want out.

Maybe if I’d left sooner, it would’ve been better than staying... better than finding out like this.

Just one fucking night. One fucking night, and he couldn’t keep his hands off her.

I was in my room crying while he was out there with her?

The thought alone makes my knees weak. It makes me want to collapse, curl into a ball, and never come out again.

I was ready to give up everything for his happiness.

I was. But then... he—

And as if that isn’t enough, the Moon Goddess looks at Mara and says, Here. Have Ronan. As if ripping my heart out isn’t enough, she has to grind salt into the wound too.

"Listen to me, Rose..." he says, grabbing my hands as he corners me in the hallway.

I try to yank my hands free, but his grip tightens, refusing to let go.

"Don’t, Rose, me," I snap. "Go back to your mate. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen? You’ve found her... and that just makes everything easier, doesn’t it? So go back to her."

"Don’t act like you’re not hurt," he says quietly. "You are... and I swear, I don’t remember touching her. I don’t. I..."

"Hell yeah, you don’t," I cut in, fighting the tears threatening to spill over.

"I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" A bitter laugh escapes me. "You want me to trust you? Where has trusting you ever gotten me? Where? Always standing in the shadows."

My chest heaves as I glare at him through blurred vision.

"You could’ve let me walk away. You could’ve let me leave instead of hurting me like this. And now you want me to trust you?" I shake my head. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to have the one man who ever looked at you differently lift you so high, make you believe in something beautiful... only to throw you off a cliff when you least expect it?"

A sob catches in my throat.

"Do you? You want me to trust you when the evidence is staring me right in the face?" I choke out. "How did your boxers end up with her, Ronan? Huh?"

Fresh tears stream down my cheeks as my voice cracks.

"Oh, hell yeah... I’m supposed to trust you."

I’m supposed to believe that your true mate magically acquired your underwear without you remembering anything."

I’m yelling now, my voice echoing through the hallway. Tears stream down my face so hard I can barely see him through the blur.

"You lied to me," I say, my voice dropping to something dangerous and cold. "You promised me honesty. You promised me communication. You promised me that we’d face everything together. And what did you do? You turned around and crawled into bed with the one woman on this planet who’s tried to destroy me."

His hand reaches out toward me. "Roselle, please. I’m telling you the truth. I don’t remember. That doesn’t mean it happened. That doesn’t mean—"

"Don’t touch me," I say sharply, taking a step back. "Don’t you dare fucking touch me."

The distance between us feels like miles.

"I need you to give me time," he says desperately. "Let me investigate. Let me find out what actually happened that night. I’ll get answers. I promise you, I’ll find the truth."

"I’m leaving, and that’s final."

"No, you’re not." His voice is firm, but there’s desperation beneath it. "You’re not going to give me hope only to take it away again. We just agreed on this. We both know Mara is as poisonous as a snake, and she’ll do whatever it takes to slither her way into our lives and destroy us."

He takes a cautious step closer, his eyes never leaving mine.

"She did it before. Just... give me time. Please. That’s all I’m asking for. Give me time to prove her wrong."

His voice breaks.

"You were going to leave me, Rose. I was shattered. I got drunk... and I passed out. That’s what happened. I have no memory of how she ended up there."

He swallows hard, the pain written all over his face.

"I’m begging you to trust me. Please, trust me. I know it’s hard. I know I don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt right now... but please. Just give me the chance to prove that whatever happened isn’t what it looks like."

I blink, desperately trying to convince myself that I’m safe... that I should believe him.

But the nagging voice in the back of my mind refuses to be silenced. What if that’s really what happened? Then everything changes. Everything is going to be over.

A bitter laugh nearly escapes me. No... maybe it’s already over.

Because at the end of the day, he’ll still end up with her. She’s his mate, the only one capable of breaking his curse. She holds all the power. The choice. The future I’d been foolish enough to believe could be mine.

I force myself to meet his gaze, even as my heart shatters all over again.

"I want to be that crazy girl who marches over to Mara, grabs the nearest bottle, and smashes it over her head," I admit with a shaky laugh that sounds more like a sob. "But then..."

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"I’ve already been hurt once by Warren, and it feels like history is about to repeat itself."

My eyes search his.

"And then what happens? She’s your mate..."

"Hell no." His answer comes without a second’s hesitation. "I’m not marrying her."

He steps closer, his gaze locked on mine.

"I’m deeply in love with you, Rose. I’d be a damn fool to leave you for her."

His jaw hardens with resolve.

"Curse be damned. I don’t need you carrying that burden. We’ll be fine, and that’s all that matters."

He pulls me into his arms, and the moment I crash against his chest, every ounce of strength I’ve been clinging to slips away.

A broken sob tears from my throat as I cry out all the hurt, fear, and heartbreak I’ve been desperately trying to hold inside.

I trust him, and maybe that’s what terrifies me the most. I really do trust him. I trust him more than I trust myself. Because if he ever breaks my heart, if he ever proves my fears right, I don’t know if there’ll be anything left of me to put back together.