Free Web NovelChapter 243: Chapter 243
Gunnar’s POV
The moment Riley stepped fully into the room, all three of us stood up at the same time.
For a second nobody even spoke because we were too busy staring at her.
She looked terrible.
Her face had gone pale, her lips looked dry, and the way she walked made it obvious she could barely stand properly. Every step looked difficult for her like her body was struggling to hold itself together.
She tried taking another step toward us but her knees suddenly weakened.
Caden reacted immediately and caught her before she fell.
"Careful," he muttered while holding her arm firmly.
Riley grabbed onto him slightly to steady herself before slowly lifting her head toward us.
"How are you awake already?" I asked immediately. "You’re supposed to still be unconscious."
She looked toward me tiredly before answering.
"Amelia woke me up."
All three of us frowned immediately.
"My mother?" Cane asked.
Riley nodded weakly.
"I don’t know what she did," she admitted quietly. "She came into Leslie’s room, touched my forehead, and after that I woke up."
She exhaled slowly before continuing.
"She asked me to come here and meet all of you."
The room immediately became tense after hearing that.
Cane exchanged a quick look with me and Caden before facing Riley again.
"You should still be resting," he said seriously. "You’re in no condition to even be standing."
Riley suddenly gave a quiet laugh that sounded more bitter than amused.
"Wow," she muttered weakly. "You’re all suddenly acting caring now."
Nobody answered her immediately.
She slowly removed herself from Caden’s grip and forced herself to stand on her own in the middle of the room even though her legs still looked shaky.
"I thought we hated each other," she continued quietly.
Then her eyes landed directly on me. "Especially you, Gunnar."
My jaw tightened immediately. The way she looked at me made my chest feel uncomfortable because there was obvious hurt in her eyes.
Nobody spoke. The room stayed silent.
Then Riley slowly folded her arms weakly against herself before speaking again.
"My sister seduced you all, right?"
The words hit the room so suddenly that all three of us reacted immediately.
"What?!" we all said at once.
Riley gave another weak laugh. "You don’t have to act surprised."
Her fists slowly tightened at her sides while she stared at us.
"I saw everything myself."
My entire body stiffened immediately.
Riley’s eyes slowly moved back toward me. "And you, Gunnar..."
I swallowed hard.
"You allowed her to touch you, didn’t you?"
"Riley-"
"No," she cut me off immediately. "Don’t dodge it."
Her gaze stayed fixed directly on me. "You know how obsessed Carian is with you."
I stayed silent for a second too long.
"And still," she continued quietly, "you let her climb on top of you and rub herself against you."
"Riley, listen to me-"
"I saw everything," she snapped immediately.
The anger in her voice surprised all of us.
"I was trapped inside her body but I could still see what was happening around me."
Caden cursed quietly under his breath while Cane stayed completely silent.
Riley looked directly into my eyes. "You let her touch you."
"I did it to get you back," I answered immediately.
She laughed bitterly. "Really?"
Her eyes started watering slightly now but she kept talking anyway.
"Because from where I was trapped, it didn’t look like you hated it enough though."
My chest tightened painfully after hearing that.
"Riley," I said firmly, "Carian said she would release you if I agreed."
"And if she asked you to sleep with her fully?" Riley fired back immediately. "Would you have done it too?"
The room went quiet again. I opened my mouth to answer but no words came out immediately.
And Riley noticed.
She slowly nodded to herself like my silence had already answered everything she needed to know.
"That’s what I thought."
"That’s not fair Riley," Caden suddenly spoke up.
Riley turned toward him instantly."What isn’t fair?"
"You know Gunnar would’ve done anything to save you."
Riley’s eyes hardened slightly. "And what exactly am I supposed to do with that information?"
She looked back at me again.
"If you still care about my sister that much, then maybe you should just use my blood to save her like you originally planned."
The second those words left her mouth, the room froze completely.
My eyes widened instantly. Cane looked sharply toward me. Caden’s face darkened too.
And Riley just kept staring directly at me. "You did plan that, didn’t you? Deny it Gunnar. "
My throat suddenly felt dry. How the hell did she know about that?
Nobody had told her. Absolutely nobody.
Riley saw the expression on my face and gave another weak smile.
"So it’s true."
"Riley..." I muttered quietly.
But she shook her head tiredly before I could continue.
"I’m exhausted."
Her voice sounded weak now. Not angry anymore. Just genuinely exhausted.
"I’m tired of this entire place."
She slowly looked around the room while speaking. "I’m tired of this damn pack."
"I’m tired of all these problems."
"I’m tired of stupid fate dragging me around like my life belongs to everybody except me."
Nobody interrupted her.
"I want my old life back."
The words came out quietly but firmly. "I miss Crescent Hollow."
Her eyes lowered slightly. "I miss my company."
Caden immediately looked at her. "It’s still running."
Riley frowned slightly. "What?"
"Your company," Caden answered calmly. "I checked on it."
She looked genuinely surprised now. "You checked on my company?"
He nodded once. "It’s still operating normally."
For the first time since entering the room, her expression softened slightly.
Then she sighed quietly. "Maybe I should just leave this town completely."
My chest tightened immediately.
Riley continued speaking before anyone could stop her.
"I could move somewhere else. A different city. Maybe even another country."
"No."Cane’s voice came out instantly. Sharp enough that everybody turned toward him immediately.
Riley frowned slightly.
Cane stared directly at her without backing down. "You’re not leaving."
Riley looked irritated immediately. "And why exactly not?"
"Because your destiny isn’t finished yet."
She stared at him blankly. "My destiny? What bullshit is that?"
Riley let out a disbelieving laugh. "Oh my God, you people really love talking about destiny huh? This place is already scary enough and now I suddenly have a destiny?"
Cane ignored her sarcasm completely. "If you run away now, fate will drag you back here again."
Riley folded her arms weakly. "You sound insane right now."
"I’m serious."
The room became tense again. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Riley rubbed her forehead tiredly before speaking. "What destiny are you even talking about?"
Honestly, I expected Cane to finally tell her about the claiming ceremony.
Or Leslie’s warning. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Or the Blood Moon.
But instead, he said something none of us expected.
"You are the bloodline of Emberwyn."
Riley frowned immediately. "So what?"
Cane stepped closer slowly.
"You’re going to return to your kingdom first"
The room instantly fell silent. Even Caden looked confused now.
Riley stared at Cane like she thought he had completely lost his mind.
"...Kingdom?"
Cane nodded once. "It has been without a ruler for years."
Riley laughed softly again but this time it sounded nervous.
"Okay seriously, stop joking."
"I’m not joking."
His expression stayed completely serious.
"After Dracula destroyed the Emberwyn kingdom years ago, the remaining bloodline disappeared."
Riley slowly shook her head. "What crap is that"
"Your people have been waiting for someone to return."
"No," Riley repeated more firmly now. "You’re seriously insane Cane."
Cane kept talking calmly. "You are the last surviving heir."
Riley looked completely stunned. She stared at him silently for several seconds before finally speaking again.
"What kingdom?"
Cane looked directly into her eyes before answering.
"You are the lost princess of Elyndorath."
The room became completely silent after that. Riley just stood there staring at him like her brain couldn’t process the words she had just heard.
"And you’re going to go there and fix things. Right now, Elyndorath is at the verge of collapsing, it was your parents blood and sweat, you can’t let it fall"
