Chapter 106 A Truth That Doesn’t Fit
Jolie pov
The words hit me. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Seraphina's eyes are hard. "Ask him. Ask him about the pup he refused to claim. The child he forced me to raise alone because he was too selfish to accept responsibility."
"If that's true, where's the child now?" I demand.
Something flickers in Seraphina's expression. "Stillborn. Six months into the pregnancy. The stress of him leaving, of being abandoned by my mate—it killed my pup."
"Ryder's not your mate." I say my voice wavering slightly. "He told me Aria was the only mate he had before me."
"Chosen mate." Seraphina clarifies. "We never completed the bond ceremony, but we chose each other. And he destroyed that choice when he abandoned us."
"I don't believe you."
"You don't have to." Seraphina moves toward the door. "But ask yourself this—if he kept secrets about knowing me, what other secrets is he keeping? If he lied about the nature of our relationship, what else has he lied about?"
She's gone before I can form a response.
I stand in the empty garage, heart pounding, mind racing.
Is she telling the truth? Could Ryder really have abandoned a pregnant lover?
No. The mate bond would have shown me if he was capable of that kind of cruelty. Wouldn't it?
But he did keep secrets. Did lie by omission. Did try to control information to protect me from difficult truths.
What if there are other truths he's still hiding?
I find Ryder in his office, reviewing territory maps with Cass.
"Can we talk?" My voice comes out strained. "Alone?"
Cass takes one look at my face and leaves without argument.
"What's wrong?" Ryder's immediately on alert. "Baby, what happened?"
"Seraphina told me something." I close the door. "About you and her. About why you really broke up."
His expression shuts down. "What did she say?"
"That you were together for two years, not six months. That she got pregnant. That you left her because you didn't want the responsibility of a pup." The words tumble out. "Is it true?"
"No." Ryder's voice is flat. "It's not true."
"Which part?" I need specifics. "The length of the relationship? The pregnancy? All of it?"
"All of it." He moves closer. "Jolie, we were together for six months. There was never a pregnancy, she is lying."
"Why would she lie about something like that?" But I want to believe him.
"Because she's good at finding pressure points." Ryder's hands curl into fists. "She knows accusing me of abandoning a pregnant lover would hurt you. Would make you doubt me."
"I want to believe you." The admission costs me. "But you kept secrets before. How do I know you're not keeping more?"
"Because I swore I wouldn't." His voice is rough. "I promised full honesty, and I meant it."
"Then prove it." I step back. "Let me use my empathy gift on you. Let me feel if you're telling the truth."
Ryder goes very still. "You want to invade my mind?"
"I want to trust you." My voice breaks. "But I need proof, Ryder. I need to know for certain that she's lying."
"You don't trust the mate bond?" He sounds hurt. "You don't trust me?"
"I trust that you love me." I wipe at my eyes. "But love and honesty aren't always the same thing. Please. Just let me touch you, read your emotions. If you're telling the truth, you have nothing to hide."
He stares at me for a long moment. Then he holds out his hand.
"Do it." His voice is resigned. "Read me. Invade every corner of my mind if that's what it takes for you to trust me."
I take his hand, and my light flares. My empathy gift flows through the connection, reading his emotions like an open book.
Clear , unwavering truth. No hidden guilt about abandoned children or secret pregnancies. Just honest pain that I'm doubting him.
And underneath that, fear. Fear that he's losing me to Seraphina's manipulation. Fear that no matter what he does, it won't be enough to overcome my damaged trust.
I pull back, gasping. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"You believe me now?" His voice is carefully neutral.
"Yes." I'm shaking. "She was lying, about all of it."
"I know." Ryder doesn't pull me into his arms like I expect. "But you didn't, you chose to believe her over me."
"That's not fair." Tears stream down my face. "She's convincing, and I've been lied to my whole life. I just needed proof."
"You needed proof that I wasn't a monster who abandons pregnant lovers." Ryder's voice is flat. "That's what you think of me? That I'm capable of that?"
"No." I reach for him. "That's not what I think."
"Then why did you believe her?" He steps back. "Why was your first instinct to doubt me instead of trusting our bond?"
"Because you kept secrets." The words come out harsh. "You lied about knowing her. Made decisions without me. Treated me like I was too fragile for truth. Why shouldn't I think there might be more lies?"
The silence stretches between us, heavy with hurt and doubt and all the damage Seraphina has managed to inflict.
"You're right." Ryder finally says. "I gave you reason to doubt me. I broke your trust, and now I'm paying for it."
"I don't want you to pay." I'm crying openly now. "I just want the truth. All of it. No more secrets, no more omissions, no more protecting me from difficult things."
"You want the truth?" Ryder's voice is rough. "Here's the truth—I'm terrified. Terrified that no matter what I do, it won't be enough. That Seraphina will keep poisoning you against me until you can't see me as anything but a liar. That I'll lose you not because I did something wrong, but because I did something days ago and now I can't fix it."
The raw honesty in his voice breaks something open inside me.
"You're not going to lose me." I close the distance between us. "But Ryder, we can't keep doing this. The secrets, the doubt, the constant damage control. We need to figure out how to actually trust each other."
"How?" He looks exhausted. "How do we trust when there's someone actively working to destroy that trust?"
"We stop giving her ammunition." I take his hand. "No more secrets. Period. Even when the truth is ugly or uncomfortable or makes you look bad. Just honesty."
"I can do that." He squeezes my hand. "Can you do something for me?"
"What?"
"Trust the mate bond." His eyes search mine. "When someone tells you something about me, check with our bond first. Feel what I feel. Don't let outsiders define what we have."
He's right. I've been so focused on external voices that I've ignored the internal connection between us.
"Okay." I nod. "I can do that."
"We're going to get through this." Ryder pulls me into his arms finally. "Seraphina will slip up eventually, and when she does, we'll have proof to show Phoenix."
"What if she doesn't slip up?" I mumble against his chest. "What if she's too good?"
"Then we outlast her." His voice is firm. "Our bond is stronger than her manipulation. We just have to remember that."