Chapter 122 The Confrontation
Chapter 119
Lyra's POV
I reached into my bag and found it by touch alone. Cold metal. Soft fabric. Then the rope, coarse, weighted, unforgiving. A lifeline meant for places where death waited below.
I eased it out. It uncurled slowly, alive in my hands, like a creature stirring from rest.
I cast it forward.The rope hit the floor before Caramel with a deep, decisive thud.
Her body reacted before her mind. She snapped her gaze downward. Her eyes widened in raw terror, brown nearly swallowed by white. Her mouth opened, lips trembling as fear settled in.
Caramel's whole body jerked. Her head snapped down to look at the rope. Her eyes went wide, so wide I could see the white parts all around her brown irises. Her mouth opened. Her lips trembled.
"I… I can make this right, dear," she said. Her voice came out broken and small. Her lips shook with every word. Her hands came up to her chest, fingers twisting together. "Just give me one chance…"
My stomach churned. Hearing her speak felt like lifting the lid off something long-decayed, nauseating, repulsive.
I remained still, my expression frozen, my eyes locked on her.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Caramel rushed out, her voice breaking as she leaned toward me, hands shaking. “It was Alpha Ryder. He pressured me. I refused him so many times, Rosa. So many times. He said I had no choice, that he needed an heir.”
My jaw clenched. I felt my teeth press together so hard my whole face hurt. My fingers tightened around the gun in my other hand.
"Oh, that's beautiful," I said. My voice came out soft, but it wasn't gentle. It was the soft sound ice makes when it cracks under your feet. "Didn't you tell him that my womb had been damaged? That I could not give birth. You stayed silent so you could keep crawling into his bed."
My teeth ground together. I could feel the anger burning in my chest like fire.
"I didn't…" Caramel's voice broke into pieces. Tears spilled down her cheeks in thick streams. Her nose turned red. She wiped at her face with shaking hands, smearing the tears across her skin. "I wanted to tell you first, but he said no. He wouldn't let me. He told me he would talk to you about it himself. He promised, Rosa!"
"Talk to me about what?" My voice grew louder. I took a step forward. "About me letting you sleep with my mate? About sharing the man I gave up my entire bloodline for? The man I chose over my own family?"
Caramel’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out. She sat frozen on the floor, her body shaking like leaves caught in a violent wind.
Her eyes flicked wildly around the room, to the window, to the door, up at the ceiling, down at the floor, over and over again. A trapped rabbit, frantic for an escape that didn’t exist.
I let my gaze drift around her bedroom. Chaos everywhere. The bed looked ravaged, sheets twisted and tangled, spilling over the edges. The blanket lay crumpled on the floor. Pillows were scattered, on the mattress, on the ground, one abandoned on a chair.
Clothes hung limply over furniture. A dress lay discarded. Shoes were kicked into dark corners.
I knew exactly what she was doing. She was waiting. Waiting for the maids to come and clean up after her. She always did that. Always waited for someone else to fix her messes, to make things right, to clean up what she had destroyed.
Not this time.
"When did you start sleeping with him?" I asked.
Caramel's body went rigid. Every muscle locked tight. She lifted her head and stared up at the ceiling like the answer was painted there in big, bold letters that only she could read.
I watched her face. I could see her mind working. See her thinking. See her trying to twist the truth into something that wouldn't sound so bad.
Her mouth opened. Closed. It opened again.
"L… last m… moon," she finally whispered. The words barely made it past her lips.
Last moon. They had been doing this for weeks. Maybe even months. All this time. All those dinners where we sat together and laughed. All those walks in the garden. All those moments when she hugged me and called me sister. All lies. Every single moment had been a lie.
I pointed down at the rope on the floor. My finger didn't shake. "Use that. Right now. Tie yourself up."
"Please, Rosa… I know…"
I lifted the gun higher. My arm extended until the barrel pointed directly at her forehead. My finger moved to the trigger.
Click.
The safety came off.