Chapter 25
Snow fell without warning in Eastern Territory.
Theron stood outside Nyra’s guesthouse, his black coat collecting white flakes while his fingers went numb from cold-but he still clutched that manila
envelope.
He stared at that closed door, his throat working, before finally raising his hand to knock.
The door opened.
Nyra stood in the doorway, her expression utterly unmoved at seeing him: “What do you want?”
Theron’s breath hitched.
He’d rehearsed this moment a thousand times, had so much he needed to say, but now his throat felt like it was closing up.
I…” His voice came out rough as he held up the envelope. “You need to see this.”
yra glanced at the package but didn’t take it: “What is it?”
Everything Delilah did to you.” His hands were actually shaking now. “I found out she was sabotaging you the whole time. All the proof is right here.”
yra absorbed this information without even blinking, then looked away with complete indifference: “I don’t care about that anymore.”
heron’s heart plummeted.
le’d expected rage, hurt, maybe demands about why it took him so long to see the truth. Instead she just… didn’t care.
I already made her pay.” He rushed to continue, desperate to get some reaction. “And your parents-I dealt with them too-”
Theron.” Nyra’s voice cut through his rambling. “Why are you still trying to make this everyone else’s fault?”
le went completely still.
Don’t you have any responsibility in this?” She looked directly at him, her voice soft but cutting like glass. “You enabled Delilah every step of the way, didn’t
ou?”
heron felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to defend himself, but every excuse died in his throat.
he was absolutely right.
le’d chosen Delilah over Nyra every single time. He’d ignored the signs, dismissed her pain, and when she’d needed him most, he’d been the one holding the
nife.
I…” The word came out broken. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
¡yra shook her head, her smile barely there: “Save it. Apologies don’t fix anything.”
he paused, then raised her left hand. A diamond engagement ring caught the porch light.
I’m mated now.”
Theron’s vision went white around the edges, the words hitting him like he’d been shot.
He stared at that ring while his entire world crumbled.
“To who?” His voice was barely recognizable.
Nyra didn’t answer, just glanced toward the street.
Theron followed her gaze-
Evander stood at the garden gate with grocery bags, watching them with protective alertness.
In that instant, Theron’s blood turned to ice.
Chapter 25
Nyra’s tone was brutally final: “We’re done, Theron. Don’t come here again.”
She turned and walked toward Evander without hesitation, her posture saying everything-she’d moved on, and he was nothing but a bad memory.
Theron stood there as she disappeared into the snow, feeling like his chest had been ripped open and everything vital torn out.
This time, he’d lost her forever.
The snow kept falling.
Theron somehow made it back to his car, though he couldn’t remember walking there.
He sat behind the wheel, gripping it so hard his knuckles went white, veins standing out on his hands.
Snow covered the windshield, blurring everything like the chaos in his mind.
He remembered their first meeting-Nyra quiet and compliant in her family’s sitting room, playing the perfect stand in.
le remembered all the meals she’d cooked, the lights she’d left on, every humiliation she’d endured without complaint.
le remembered her final look-calm, indifferent, like he was just another stranger.
lis heart felt like it was being carved out with a rusty blade.
le slammed his fist into the steering wheel, the horn echoing harsh and alone through the snow-muffled night.
Syra…”
e whispered her name, his voice completely broken.
ut this time, no one would ever answer him again.
ɔme mistakes you spend a lifetime paying for.
20:22
