Renzo’s POV

We left John’s house.

No one spoke as we slid back into the car, the doors shutting with dull, final thuds that sounded too loud in the quiet street. I sat behind the wheel, hands resting on it but not turning the ignition yet. The engine was off. The night pressed in around us, heavy and cold.

For a long moment, there was nothing but breathing.

Mine felt uneven. Too sharp.

Everything I thought I knew had cracked open, and what lay beneath it was ugly.

Ronan was the first to break the silence.

“You really don’t think Linda is the strange person that called them, do you?” he said suddenly, his voice tight, almost desperate. “Linda is innocent. She has to be. She can’t do something like that.”

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

“We know her. We’ve known her for a pretty long time now. She wouldn’t do that, she can not.”

Ryder turned slightly in his seat to look at him.

“That’s not the point right now, Ronan,” Ryder said quietly, but there was steel beneath the calm. “The point is Jade was innocent all along.”

“We’ve been punishing her for nothing,” Ryder continued. “We became the villain we thought she was. We’ve been hurting her for something she never did.”

Ronan’s shoulders slumped. The fire drained out of him, replaced by something heavier, regret.

“What are we going to do?” he asked softly.

I turned the key in the ignition.

The engine came alive with a low growl.

“I can’t stop here,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Not now. We need the full truth. All of it.”

I pulled out onto the road.

The drive to Linda’s house felt longer than it ever had before. Every red light felt like an accusation. Every passing street stirred memories, laughter, promises, moments where we had chosen to hurt her again and again while Jade stood alone on the sidelines.

And now....

Now the truth was clawing its way out.

Linda’s house loomed ahead, lights still on despite the late hour. The party was long over. Cars were gone. Music was dead. The house felt hollow.

We didn’t knock.

We walked straight in.

Linda was alone in the living room.

She was sitting curled into herself on the couch, knees pulled up, makeup smeared, eyes red and swollen like she’d cried until there was nothing left. She looked small. Fragile.

The moment she saw us, her head snapped up.

Her face lit up instantly.

“Renzo,” she breathed, standing so fast she nearly stumbled. “I knew you’d come back.”

She rushed toward us, words spilling out in a rush. “I knew it. I knew you’d be back eventually. Everything that happened, it was a misunderstanding. It’s not your fault. It’s that stupid mate bond, messing with your heads.”

She laughed weakly, reaching for us, touching Ryder’s arm, Ronan’s chest, clinging like she was afraid we’d disappear.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “We’ll fix it. You’ll reject Jade soon and everything will go back to normal. I know you still love me.”

I caught her wrists gently but firmly and pushed her back a step.

The smile slid off her face.

“Renzo?” she asked, confused. “What’s wrong?”

My chest felt tight.

I looked straight at her.

“Did you lie to us about Jade?” I asked.

The room went still.

“A year ago,” I continued, my voice cold despite the storm inside me. “When you led us to that hotel. When you told us she slept with the basketball team. Did you lie?”

Linda stared at me like I’d spoken another language.

“What?” she said sharply. “What kind of question is that?”

Ronan stepped forward. “Linda,” he said, his voice strained. “We need the truth.”

Ryder crossed his arms. “Were you the liar all along?”

Her mouth opened, then closed. Her eyes darted between us.

“What is going on?” she demanded. “Why are you all acting like this?”

“We went to John’s place,” Ronan said. “He told us something.”

Her face twitched.

“He said he and his team received strange texts that day,” Ronan continued. “Telling them to go to the hotel and wait. Jade also seemed to have received a similar text.”

Ryder’s gaze sharpened. “Someone set them up. Someone wanted us to believe she betrayed us.”

“That someone had to be you,” Ryder finished.

Linda’s breath hitched.

Then suddenly.... she broke.

She burst into tears, collapsing onto the couch, sobs ripping through her body violently.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she cried. “I swear. I swear I don’t.”

She looked up at us through tears, mascara streaking down her face.

“That day, I got a text too,” she said shakily. “It said Jade was betraying you. That she was sleeping with all of them at the downtown hotel.”

She shook her head wildly. “I panicked. I didn’t want you to be hurt, to be deceived. So I came to you. I took you there so you could see for yourselves.”

She clutched her chest. “That’s all I did. I didn’t plan anything. I didn’t set anyone up.”

“All I’ve ever done,” she sobbed, “is care about you. Love you. Protect you.”

She looked at us one by one.

“If Jade was really betraying you, you deserved to know,” she continued, voice cracking. “I couldn’t let you be played like that.”

She stood suddenly, tears still falling.

“And what did I get in return?” she shouted. “Pain. Doubt. Being pushed aside.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Being abandoned.”

My stomach twisted.

She wiped her face harshly.

“I’ve given you everything,” she said. “My loyalty. My body. My heart.”

Then her eyes hardened.

“And if you’re really going to abandon me now,” she said shakily, “because of some unverified story that boy told you...”

She turned abruptly and ran to the kitchen.

“Linda!” Ronan shouted.

She grabbed a knife from the counter and spun back toward us.

My blood ran cold.

“If you chose to walk away from me tonight,” she cried, pressing the blade against her throat, “I’ll kill myself.”

We froze.

“Linda, stop,” Ryder said urgently, stepping forward.

“Don’t,” Ronan pleaded, panic flooding his voice.

She shook her head violently. “I have nothing without you.”

Ronan lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Please,” he said, voice breaking. “Please don’t.”

Ryder kicked the knife out of her hand, sending it skidding across the floor.

Linda collapsed into sobs.

She clung to me then, arms tight around my waist, shaking uncontrollably.

I stood there, stiff.

Conflicted.

Because I wanted to believe she is innocent, but something about it all felt wrong.