Chapter 68 Chapter 68
Violet
Stepbrother.
The word echoed.
It rang through my head, loud and sharp, slicing through the haze just enough to register before everything went dark.
My vision finally gave in, the room dissolving into shadow as the last thing I felt was Elijah’s grip tightening, his voice calling my name as the world slipped away beneath me.
And I found myself transported back in the past, back to where my dreams of a happily married life had been brutally crushed and stomped on.
“Doctor! Somebody call a doctor!” I heard a familiar voice.
“She passed out, poor thing. Let us get her on a chair at least."
But my brain barely registered those voices amidst the fog engulfing it.
Sound returned before sight.
I felt hands at my shoulders, light but insistent, and the faint, familiar scent of polished wood and flowers clung to the air around me.
I tried to move and immediately regretted it.
My head throbbed, a dull ache spreading behind my eyes, and my stomach rolled unpleasantly. I let out a soft sound without meaning to, and suddenly the world rushed closer.
“There,” someone said gently. “She’s waking up.”
Another voice followed, sharper, threaded with concern. “Violet?”
My lashes fluttered, stubbornly refusing to cooperate at first, and when my eyes finally opened, light flooded in too quickly. I squeezed them shut again, breathing through the wave of dizziness that followed.
When I dared to look once more, faces hovered above me.
Cassie was closest to me, her brows pulled together in worry. Alpha Alaric stood just behind her, his expression unreadable but his attention fixed squarely on me. Lady Aurelia sat poised at the table, hands folded elegantly in her lap, concern carefully arranged across her features like part of a well-practiced performance.
And then there was her.
Nicole stood slightly to the side, eyes soft with sympathy as she looked down at me.
“Oh, thank the Moon Goddess,” she said, stepping forward a fraction. “You gave us quite the scare. We couldn’t even introduce ourselves properly before you passed out.”
Her voice was warm. Caring. Perfectly pitched.
I didn’t have the energy to call out her bluff.
“I am Nicole and this is my boyfriend, Nate. It's a pleasure meeting you. Though I wished we had met under different circumstances.”
Oh really now? Was she going to pretend to not know me at all?
For a moment, I simply stared at her, my mind still lagging behind what my eyes were registering.
But that hurt far less than the last words she had spoken before delivering the final blow.
Long time no see, stepbrother.
The room felt too small suddenly.
“I’m… fine,” I managed, my throat dry. The word felt like a lie even as it left my mouth. “I just felt dizzy for a moment.”
Cassie’s hand immediately came up, pressing lightly against my arm. “You fainted,” she said softly. “Elijah caught you.”
My gaze shifted without permission.
He stood a short distance away now, rigid in a way that didn’t suit him.
His jaw was clenched, his shoulders squared, as though he were holding himself together through sheer force of will. His eyes were on me, dark and intent, searching my face with an intensity that made my chest ache.
There was guilt there. And something else too.
Something raw and unguarded that made it harder to breathe.
I looked away.
“I don’t want to disrupt anything,” I said carefully, pushing myself more upright despite Cassie’s obvious reluctance to let me. “Please, you should all continue dinner. I think I just need to rest.”
Lady Aurelia’s lips parted in surprise, though the emotion didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Are you certain, my dear? We would never want a guest to feel unwell under our roof.”
Before I could answer, Nicole spoke again.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” she said gently, her gaze flicking toward Lady Aurelia and Alpha Alaric in turn. “Dinner should be a pleasant affair. It would be terribly inconsiderate to dine while someone is clearly unwell. Family or not.”
Way to diss me, Nicole!
Alpha Alaric’s expression softened, just a touch.
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” he said, nodding in approval. “You’ve always had a compassionate heart, Nicole.”
She smiled modestly, lowering her gaze. “I only say what feels right.”
The irony of it all sat heavy in my chest.
I hadn’t meant to derail anything, hadn’t wanted attention or sympathy or decisions made on my behalf.
But here it was anyway.
Lady Aurelia hesitated for a moment longer, then inclined her head. “Perhaps it would be best to postpone. We can reconvene tomorrow, when everyone is well and rested.”
Cassie shot me an apologetic look, and I shook my head faintly, because I wasn’t sure I could control the words that wanted to slip out of my mouth and cause a scene.
My gaze drifted back to Elijah despite myself.
He was watching me again, his eyes holding something dangerously close to regret. I felt it then, sharp and unyielding, the hurt I’d been pushing down since the moment the door had opened.
Questions crowded my throat.
Why didn’t you tell me?
How long have you known?
Was any of it real?
My hands curled into fists in my lap.
Cassie handed me a glass of water, her fingers brushing mine. “Drink,” she murmured. “Slowly.”
I obeyed, the coolness grounding me just enough to keep the room from tilting again. When I lowered the glass, Elijah’s gaze hadn’t moved.
I held it this time to let him see it all.
The accusation. The disbelief. The quiet devastation I didn’t trust myself to voice.
Something flickered across his face, quick and painful, and his hands flexed at his sides as though he were fighting the urge to come closer.
Before either of us could move, someone else did.
Nate.
“I think you should lie down,” he said, stepping toward me with an air of easy familiarity that made my skin crawl. “You still look pale.”
His hand reached for my arm.
I recoiled instantly, the movement sharp enough that it startled even me. My chair scraped faintly against the floor as I pulled back, my heart slamming painfully against my ribs.
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice tight. Too tight. I forced a smile, painfully aware of the eyes on us. “Thank you.”
He didn’t seem to notice the warning. Or rather ignored it.
“Still,” he continued, undeterred, “it would be better for you to rest. And honestly, postponing dinner makes sense. I’m a bit jet-lagged myself. Right, Nicole?”
“Yeah sure” She nodded.
The words felt like salt in an open wound.
Nicole glanced between us, her expression smoothing into something thoughtful. “Yes, that might be best,” she agreed. “We can all have a proper evening tomorrow, when Violet is feeling better.”
I wanted to scream. I would rather go out in the chilly wind and sit there all night rather than dreading lunch with them tomorrow. Or ever.
“No,” I said, my voice soft but steady. “Please don’t cancel on my account. I’d rather we continue.”