NovelStartChapter 218
Ava’s POV-
It took seeing his face for every horrible thing he had done and hid toto ccrashing back. All the pain, all
the sleepless nights where | cried until there were no tears left. All because he'd kickedout-thrown me
away-when all | did was love him.
And it was because of that love that | had convinced myself | hadn't done enough, that maybe if I'd been better,
stronger, it wouldn't have ended like this.
That | needed to do more like | had told Mikayla and that was why | went after him.
But | had done enough. | had forgiven him more times than | could count, opened up to him, let him into the
fragile parts of myself | rarely let anyone see. I'd trusted him with the broken pieces of me, and in one single
moment, he had taken that trust, that love, and thrown it back in my face.
The anger bubbled up inside me, fierce and hot, as the silence stretched between us. I could feel it burning in my
veins, rising to a fever pitch, and | was ready to explode, to lash out and tell him to get the hell out of my way
But then... it faded.
Like someone had poured cold water over me, the fire was extinguished, leaving behind nothing but a dull ache,
an emptiness that swallowed everything else. The anger was gone, replaced by a hollow feeling | couldn't even
begin to describe.
So | walked away.
And as | did, with each step | took, | felt a strange sense of liberation. The weight of carrying that anger, that
hurt-it was exhausting. Letting it go didn’t fix anything, but at least | could breathe again.
The hallway seemed to stretch forever, my footsteps echoing in the silence. Ricardo’s mansion was vast, and
despite its opulence, | felt like a ghost drifting through its halls. My mother was still out with her “friend,” and a
part offelt guilty for the harsh words I'd thrown at her earlier. Dislike was one thing, but hate?
Hate was a powerful, consuming force, and as much as | wanted to blher for everything, | knew | didn’t hate
her.
“Are you still going angry lioness on everyone?”
| stopped, turning my head to find Isabella seated by a window, staring out at the darkening sky.
A sigh escaped me, and | moved towards her, each step feeling heavier than the last, “I didn’t... | wasn’t angry
at you. Or maybe | was. | don’t know. I'm just so angry at everything. Theres so much happening all at once, and
| don’t know what to do with it. I'm sorry.”
She didn’t turn to look at me, her gaze fixed on something far beyond the glass, “There's been a lot of that word
between us lately. Before, you'd say it because you couldn't sneak out, couldn't defy your parents. Now we're
both saying it because we keep hurting each other-intentionally or not.”
| paused, absorbing her words, letting them settle into the cracks of my weary heart.
Then she added, her voice softer, “He looks so lost.”
Curiosity and a reluctant concern propelledforward, and | leaned to see what-or rather, who-she was talking
about. Grayson stood outside by the fountain, still staring at the water where the mother duck and her ducklings
floated serenely.
The sight of him, shoulders hunched, eyes distant, twisted something inside me. | looked away quickly unwilling
to let that
10:47 Wed, Feb 19
Chapter 218
pang of emotion take root.
“I called Rickon. He's arranging for a flight back, I'll leave tomorrow morning.” Isabella stood, casting one last
glance at Grayson, “Maybe things are just too different now.”
+38
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShe walked away, leavingstanding there, and | watched her treating figure, feeling that familiar sting of
abandonment.
Just like | had walked away from Grayson.
| let her go, sinking into the seat she vacated. My eyes drifted back to Grayson, still unmoving by the fountain.
He was like a statue, carved from stone, unable or unwilling to leave the spot where I'd left him.
Then, finally, he shifted.
His steps were slow, almost hesitant, as he moved closer to the fountain. He knelt beside the water, dipping his
hand into it. The ripples spread out, disturbing the serene surface.
He reached out carefully, his fingers closing gently around one of the baby ducks. The tiny creature squirmed in
his grasp, its mother letting out an alarmed quack. For a moment, a dark thought crossed my mind-what if he
hurt it? What if the scoldness he had shownextended to this fragile creature?
But then, slowly, he lowered the duckling back into the water. His hand lingered, watching as it paddled away,
hurrying to rejoin its family. The mother duck quacked again, this tsofter, as if in gratitude or relief.
Grayson stayed crouched by the water, his hand still submerged, as if grounding himself in the coolness of it. His
face was unreadable from this distance, but | could sense the turmoil, the regret, the shradiating off him.
And as | watched him, a strange mix of emotions churned within me. There was still pain, still hurt, still anger-
but also a flicker of something else. Something softer. A sliver of pity, maybe, or the embers of a love that | knew
would never fully extinguished.
| wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together. Watching him there, by the fountain, it hit
Maybe Isabella was right. Maybe things were too di Maybe Isabella was right. Maybe things were too different
now. Maybe there was no going back.
No.
| shook my head, pushing away the thoughts clawing at me. My body moved before my mind fully caught up, my
feet carryingdown the hallway in a rush. My heart pounded, my breath uneven as | reached the door.
For a moment, | hesitated. My hand hovered over the handle, but then | pushed forward, turning the knob and
stepping inside.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon filtering through the curtains. It was
quiet-too quiet.
And then | saw her.
Isabella was curled up in bed, hugging a pillow tightly to her chest, her back to the door. She looked so small, so
unlike the firecracker she usually was, and something insidecracked.
Without thinking, | moved toward her, my body acting on instinct. I climbed into bed beside her, wrapping my
arms around her from behind. She stiffened for a second, then slowly relaxed into me, but neither of us spoke.
Not yet..
I held her tighter, pressing my forehead against her back, and after a long silence, | finally whispered, “I don’t
want you to
Chapter 218
go
to
A deep digh left her, and she turned slightly, just enough forfeet her shift in my arms. “Lilian. She started,
but her Advip let it she Uf voice trailed off
“I mean it.” | murmured, my grip tightening like | could chold onto her, keep her from slipping away
She was quiet for a long momern before she exhaled, almove she’d been holding something in for too long. “It’s
not that simple”
“I know.” | admitted, because | did. Nothing about our lives had ever been simple.
She turned fully now, facing me, her eyes glistening in the dim light. “You hurt me, Ava. Her voice wasn’t
accusing. It was just... tired. Worn down.
My throat tightened. “I know.”
She searched my face like she was trying to find something-maybe proof that | really understood. That | meant
it. “And t hurt you, too.”
I nodded, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”
For a moment, we just lay there, staring at each other, breathing the sair. Then | whispered the words, this
teeally meaning it. “I'm sorry.”
Her lips parted slightly then, to my surprise, she let out a soft, broken laugh. “I think now we've both said that
enough times to fill an entire book.”
| smiled a little, even though my chest still ached. “Maybe. But I still mean it.”
She sighed again, softer this time, and nudged her forehead against mine in the way she used to, a tthat
now felt like forever ago,
“No more fighting.” She whispered. “No more hurting each other
| nodded, my voice just as quiet. “Agreed.”
We stayed like that for a moment, wrapped in silence, the warmth of our embrace making it feel like, just for a
second, nothing else mattered. But then, suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
| wanted to ignore it-I really did. But with everything happening, ignoring a message wasn’t a luxury | could
afford. With a quiet sigh, | shifted away from Isabella and reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone.
The non the screen made my breath catch.
Damien.
| froze, my fingers tightening around the device.
Isabella noticed immediately. She turned fully toward me, eyes narrowing, “What is it?”
| swallowed, my pulse already picking up, “It’s from Damien.”
The second | opened the message, my stomach dropped. My screen filled with pictures.
Pictures of us.
Grayson, still in the garden where | had left him.
10:48 Wed, Feb 19 BB
Chapter 218
go.”
80%
A deep sigh left her, and she turned slightly, just enough forto feel her shift in my arms. “Lilian...” She
started, but her voice trailed off.
“I mean it,” | murmured, my grip tightening like | could somehow hold onto her, keep her from slipping away.
+38
She was quiet for a long moment before she exhaled, almost like she'd been holding something in for too long.
“It’s not that simple.”
“I know,” | admitted, because | did. Nothing about our lives had ever been simple.
She turned fully now, facing me, her eyes glistening in the dim light. “You hurt me, Ava.” Her voice wasn’t
accusing. It was just... tired. Worn down.
My throat tightened. “I know.”
She searched my face like she was trying to find something-maybe proof that | really understood. That | meant
it. “And | hurt
you,
too.”
I nodded, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”
For a moment, we just lay there, staring at each other, breathing the sair. Then | whispered the words, this
teeally meaning it, “I'm sorry.”
Her lips parted slightly then, to my surprise, she let out a soft, broken laugh. “I think now we've both said that
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmenough times to fill an entire book.”
| smiled a little, even though my chest still ached. “Maybe. But I still mean it.”
She sighed again, softer this time, and nudged her forehead against mine in the way she used to, a tthat
now felt like forever ago:
“No more fighting,” She whispered. “No more hurting each other”
| nodded, my voice just as quiet. “Agreed.”
We stayed like that for a moment, wrapped in silence, the warmth of our embrace making it feel like, just for a
second, nothing else mattered. But then, suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
| wanted to ignore it-I really did. But with everything happening, ignoring a message wasn’t a luxury | could
afford. With a quiet sigh, | shifted away from Isabella and reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone.
The non the screen made my breath catch.
Damien.
| froze, my fingers tightening around the device.
Isabella noticed immediately. She turned fully toward me, eyes narrowing, “What is it?”
| swallowed, my pulse already picking up, “It’s from Damien.”
The second | opened the message, my stomach dropped. My screen filled with pictures.
Pictures of us.
Grayson, still in the garden where | had left him.
Chapter 218
My mother, standing beside a woman her age.
My father, still unconscious, exactly where we had placed him, the pack watching over him.
Elaine, sitting in an expensive looking room, watching TV.
Rickon, hunched over his laptop in his office, his expression tense.
Monica, curled up next to a guy I didn’t recognize.
Ricardo... petting a tiger?
And then, the last one-me, just moments ago, hugging Isabella,
My grip on the phone tightened.
“This is another level of-" Isabella started, but she didn’t get to finish..
Another message popped up: “lI am everywhere. And with a single word, | can make any one of you the target.”
A chill ran down my spine but before | could process that, another message
came
in.
A location.
And seven words.
“Meetthere in an hour. Alone,”
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d word rd d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d
mM: LIilofiflo&1
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mM: LIilofiflo&1
nL Li TO 1 F061
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