Free Web NovelChapter 238: Chapter 238
Gunnar’s POV
The moment the door burst open, Carian jerked around violently on top of me while I lifted my head toward the entrance.
Amelia stood there breathing hard, her eyes wide with fury as she took in the sight before her.
Carian was completely naked on top of me, my trousers halfway down my hips while her wet thighs pressed against my body. Her hands were still gripping the waistband of my trousers tightly like she intended to pull them off completely before my mother interrupted. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
For a second, nobody moved.
Then mother’s expression darkened completely.
"Get off my son."
Her voice came out cold and sharp.
Carian slowly sat up straighter on top of me and laughed bitterly. "You don’t get to command me woman."
"I said get off him."
"And I said no."
The room immediately became tense.
Amelia stepped further inside and slammed the door shut behind her. "This madness has gone on long enough." freewebnøvel.com
Carian turned fully toward her now, not even bothering to cover herself. "Madness?" she scoffed. "Your son came to me willingly."
My mother looked at me quickly before her eyes returned to Carian again. "Willingly?" she repeated angrily. "He looks half dead."
"That’s none of your concern."
"It is every bit my concern you bloody heartless witch."
Carian’s jaw tightened. "Riley is trapped because of me. Your son understands that. If I walk away now, Riley dies."
The moment she said that, my chest tightened immediately.
I forced myself upright despite the pain tearing through my body. My muscles screamed from the poison still spreading through my veins, I doubted if it’s even healing, but I ignored it and looked at Carian.
"Stop," I said quietly.
Carian turned toward me instantly.
I continued carefully because I could already see how unstable she looked.
"Calm down Carian."
That only made her angrier.
"Calm down?" she repeated loudly. "You think I’m the one that needs calming down?"
Her eyes suddenly filled with hurt as she stared at me.
"You laid here like a corpse beneath me without doing anything."
I exhaled slowly."Carian-"
"No," she snapped immediately. "Answer me first."
Mother stayed silent near the door, watching both of us carefully.
Carian slowly climbed off me and stood beside the bed completely naked, her chest rising heavily as she stared directly at me.
"Do you love me?"
The question sat heavily in the room. I looked at her quietly for a few seconds before answering honestly.
"I care about you."
Her eyes searched my face desperately.
"Because of Summer," I finished quietly.
The moment the words left my mouth, her expression broke completely.
She laughed softly, but it sounded hurt. "Because of Summer," she repeated.
I stayed silent.
"All those years..." she muttered. "All those times you acted like you cared about me..."
Her voice slowly rose. "That was because of Summer?"
I rubbed my hand over my face tiredly. "Carian."
"No!" she shouted suddenly. "No, answer me properly!"
Mother frowned slightly but remained silent.
Carian stared at me with tears gathering in her eyes now.
"Why did you act like you missed me?"
"Why did you act like my death hurt you?"
"Why did you look broken after I died?"
She stepped closer to the bed.
"Why did you keep trying to bring me back then if none of it was real?"
The room became quiet after that.
I looked at her for a long moment before finally speaking.
"I did care about you."
Her face immediately tightened.
I continued before she interrupted me. "When you died, Summer was still young."
My throat felt dry saying it out loud. "She was a child."
"She kept asking for you."
My chest tightened painfully at the memory.
She cried every night for months."
Carian’s eyes stayed locked on mine.
"And because every single time she cried, I blamed myself for it"
My voice lowered slightly. "I kept thinking maybe you died because I failed you somehow."
"Maybe if I protected you better..."
"Maybe if I paid more attention..."
"Maybe if I showed you love a bit..."
I shook my head slowly. "I carried that guilt for years."
Carian’s breathing became uneven.
"I watched Summer grow up without a mother and I hated myself for it."
Amelia lowered her eyes quietly at my words.
"I wanted to bring you back because I thought Summer deserved her mother."
I paused briefly before continuing. "And because I believed your death was partly my fault."
Tears rolled down Carian’s face silently now.
"But in all these you never loved me," she whispered.
I looked at her honestly."I cared about you."
"That’s not the same thing."
No.
It wasn’t.
The silence between us became heavy.
Then Carian suddenly laughed bitterly again and wiped her tears angrily.
"You know what hurts the most?" she asked quietly.
I said nothing.
"Every answer you give always leads back to somebody else."
Her voice shook badly now. "Summer. Riley. Your guilt. Your pain."
She pointed toward herself. "But never me."
I clenched my jaw tightly.
Carian stared at me for a few more seconds before speaking again.
"Did you ever once love me for me?"
I looked away briefly before answering."No."
That answer crushed her completely. I saw it happen right in front of me.
Her lips trembled and she looked down for a second like she regretted even asking.
Then she laughed softly again, but this time there was no anger in it anymore.
Only pain.
Mother slowly crossed her arms beside the door watching quietly.
Carian nodded to herself a few times before speaking again.
"So all this time..." she whispered. "I was holding onto something that never existed."
I swallowed hard.
"Carian-"
"No," she interrupted quietly. "Let me finish please."
She bent down slowly and picked up her robe from the floor before slipping it over her body. Her fingers trembled slightly while tying it around herself.
Then she looked back at me again.
"You know what’s cruel?" she asked softly.
I stayed silent.
"You keep saying you cared about me."
Her eyes filled again.
"But not once have you said you loved me."
The room remained completely quiet.
"You talk about your guilt."
"You talk about Summer."
"You talk about Riley."
"But never me."
Her lips trembled again. "I spent years hoping there might be something real between us, I fucking killed myself to get even the slightest pity from you, I wanted it to crush you, I did not want you to move on, I watched you blame yourself and I watched you even when you got the idea of using my sister’s blood to bring me back, I was really happy, I thought you finally got a heart for me no matter what it took, and I held onto all those hopes."
She gave a small broken laugh. "But even now..."
She shook her head slowly. "Even now Riley is still the only woman, just like back then"
I closed my eyes briefly.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
When I opened them again, Carian was already turning away from the bed.
"Your words are cruel, Gunnar," she said quietly. "More cruel than you realize."
She walked toward the door slowly. "You’re never getting Riley back."
The moment she said that, my body tensed instantly.
Carian reached the door where my mother was standing and tried walking past her, but my mother suddenly blocked her path.
"You lie Carian Emberwyn."
Carian frowned immediately as my mother smiled calmly.
"You’re going back to exactly where you came from."
Carian stared at her carefully now. "Are you going to challenge a half human, half spirit?"
Amelia’s smile widened slightly. "No need for that, because I brought your daughter to do the job."
The room became silent immediately.
Carian’s face slowly lost color."What?"
Mother looked toward the hallway outside the room and spoke clearly.
"Summer," she called out calmly. "Come out."
My entire body froze instantly as Carian’s eyes widened in horror.
And then slow footsteps echoed from outside the room.
