Free Web NovelChapter 211: Chapter 211
Riley’s POV
Ethan stayed on his knees, his hands braced against the floor as if that was the only thing keeping him upright. His chest rising too fast, but he forced himself to look at me.
There was fear in his eyes, but it wasn’t the only thing there. He was thinking. Calculating. Searching for something that could still work.
"Riley... listen to me," he said, his voice strained but urgent.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t move. I just watched him.
He swallowed and pushed himself a little straighter, like he was trying to regain some control over how he looked.
"You really don’t have to do this," he continued. "You’re acting out of anger right now, and I understand that. Anyone would. But you need to think beyond this moment."
I tilted my head slightly, giving him just enough attention to keep him talking.
"You’re about to make enemies you don’t fully understand," he added. "Emberkin isn’t just some man you dealt with. He has people. Powerful people. What you did to him... it won’t go unanswered."
His voice steadied a little more as he spoke, gaining confidence as he leaned into his argument.
"They will come for you," he said. "Not just you. This entire place. Obsidian Veil will become a target. You’re putting everyone here at risk."
I remained still, my gaze fixed on him.
He took my silence as encouragement.
"This doesn’t have to go further," he pressed. "You’ve already made your point. The bond is broken. Emberkin is down. You’ve proven whatever you needed to prove."
He shifted slightly, wincing as his knees scraped against the floor, but he kept going.
"You can stop now," he said. "You can end this here before it turns into something bigger."
I watched his face carefully. There was urgency there, yes. But there was also something else.
He was trying to steer me. Trying to control the outcome without directly saying it.
"And Riley..." he added, his tone softening and shifting in a way that would have worked on me before. "I’m sorry."
I didn’t react.
He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering as if that made it more sincere.
"I know I hurt you," he said. "I know I made mistakes. I won’t deny that. But we don’t have to destroy everything because of it."
My grip on the knife stayed steady.
He looked at it briefly, then back at me. "I still want you," he said. "I came back because of you and I got involved in this mess because I wanted you back."
I said nothing.
"We can fix this," he continued quickly, sensing he needed to hold the moment. "Whatever happened before, we can work through it. People make mistakes, Riley. That doesn’t mean everything has to end like this."
His voice softened even more. "I love you," he said.
The words sat there, heavy. Waiting for a reaction.
I nodded slowly just once.
His eyes lit up for a brief second, relief flashing across his face like he thought he had reached me.
That was when I spoke. "Do you know what disgusts me the most about you?" I asked.
The question caught him off guard.
"What?" he said, confusion slipping into his voice.
"You don’t know?" I repeated.
He hesitated, then shook his head. "No... I don’t-"
"It’s your guts," I said.
His brows pulled together slightly.
"The boldness you have," I continued, my voice calm and clear, "to stand here and think I would still want you."
The hope in his expression vanished.
"And your shamelessness," I added. "The way you say all of this like it means something to me."
"Riley, I didn’t mean-" he started.
I stepped closer and he stopped talking.
"While you were married to me," I said, "you humiliated me."
He looked away for a second, then back at me, like he was trying to find the right response.
"You didn’t just cheat," I continued. "You made it public. You made sure people saw it. You made sure they talked about it, you made yourself look like a victim as if being married to me alone was a disease."
His jaw tightened at the truth I spat.
"You disrespected me in front of others," I said. "You spoke to me like I was trash. Like I was beneath you just because you’re an Alpha"
"That’s not how it was," he said quickly.
"It is exactly how it was, Ethan" I fired back.
My voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to.
"You hit me," I said." severally
The words landed hard and he froze.
"It wasn’t just once," I continued. "And every single time, you acted like I deserved it."
"I was angry-" he tried.
"And I was your wife," I cut in.
He went silent again.
"You broke me down slowly," I said. "You took your time with it. You made sure I felt small in my own life and home."
He shook his head again, weaker now. "I didn’t- I didn’t see it that way-"
"That’s the problem," I said.
I stepped closer again, stopping right in front of him.
"You didn’t see anything except yourself."
His breathing picked up again.
"And then," I said, my voice lowering, "you did the worst thing."
He went still.
There was something in my tone that made him stop trying to interrupt.
"You committed something I can never forgive," I said.
His eyes stayed on mine, uncertain, like he knew what was coming but didn’t want to accept it.
I held his gaze.
"You killed my son."
The silence that followed was heavy and complete.
"Our baby."
His face changed instantly.
"Riley-no-" he said, panic breaking through his voice.
"You didn’t have any conscience," I continued. "You didn’t stop. You didn’t hesitate nor think about it."
"That’s not what happened," he said quickly. "I didn’t mean for that to happen-"
"You didn’t even care for that innocent boy," I said.
"I did-" he tried again.
"And you still don’t," I replied. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
He stopped talking completely.
"All you care about," I continued, "is getting me back."
My grip on the knife tightened slightly.
"You destroyed something that can never come back," I said.
His eyes dropped this time. He didn’t look up.
"Even now," I added, "you’re standing here talking about love? Love Ethan?"
He said nothing.
I stepped closer, closing the space between us.
"Even if you were the last man on earth, Ethan," I said, my voice firm and steady, "I would rather marry the sands and clouds than be with you."
He flinched slightly at that.
I didn’t stop. "You and Wendy planned everything," I continued.
At the mention of her name, Wendy stiffened behind him.
"You wanted the company," I said. "You wanted everything. You wanted me out of the picture."
"That’s not true," he said, but there was no strength in it.
"You thought I wouldn’t fight back," I added.
He didn’t respond.
"And the first time you came looking for me here when your best friends took me," I said, "I thought you finally understood what you did."
His eyes lifted slightly.
"I thought you felt guilty," I continued. "I thought you came to fix something you broke."
My expression hardened."But instead, you made everything worse." freewebnovel.cσ๓
He looked confused for a second then tense.
"You told the people here," I said.
His face tightened.
"You told them my weakness," I continued. "You made sure they knew."
"I didn’t-" he started.
"You told them I killed my own baby," I said.
That stopped him totally.
He didn’t even try to interrupt this time.
"You stood there and said it," I continued. "You let them believe it."
His silence confirmed everything.
"You gave them something to use against me," I added. "You made it easier for them and I was sent to that stupid rite of the borrowed moon just to prove a damn point, what if I had died there? Would you still be saying to my dead body that you loved me?"
I stepped even closer, my shadow falling over him.
"You didn’t just betray me," I said. "You helped others do the same."
He looked up at me again, but there was nothing left in his expression now except fear and regret that came too late.
I leaned down slightly, bringing my face closer to his.
"And now," I said quietly, "you’re still shameless enough..."
I paused. Letting the weight of everything settle.
"...still with the audacity..."
My grip on the knife tightened. "...to say you want me back, Ethan?"
He didn’t answer. I held his gaze unmoving.
"Perhaps," I said. My voice dropped lower. "That would happen..."
I let the silence stretch just long enough.
"...when you’re in hell."
