Chapter 78 IN THE ARCHIVE

Chapter 78 IN THE ARCHIVE
Caden's POV

I couldn't breathe in that gala anymore.

The fake smiles. The cameras. Vivienne clinging to my arm while I had no idea where Aria was.

By the time I got back to the packhouse, it was past midnight. Quiet and cold.

But one light was still on.

The archives.

I stopped outside the door, staring through the cracked opening. Aria sat at one of the long tables surrounded by files and papers, her swollen belly pressed against the edge as she flipped through another document.

She looked exhausted.

And stubborn.

I pushed the door open.

She didn't look up.

"Come to lock me in again?" she asked flatly.

The words hit harder than they should have.

I shut the door behind me slowly. "No."

She kept reading.

"I came because I couldn't stay away."

That finally made her pause.

Not much. Just enough for her fingers to still on the page before she continued reading again.

I walked deeper into the room and sat across from her. Dust floated between us under the dim light. My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin the second I got close to her.

Too close.

But, never close enough.

"You should be sleeping," I muttered.

"You should be with Vivienne."

My jaw tightened. "Don't start."

A bitter laugh escaped her. "Why? Because hearing the truth bothers you?"

Silence stretched between us.

I watched her organize papers into neat stacks. Her hands trembled slightly. Whether from exhaustion or anger, I couldn't tell.

Finally, she spoke again.

"I heard you."

I frowned. "Heard what?"

"You and Marcus." Her eyes lifted to mine for the first time. "Tonight."

A bad feeling settled in my stomach.

Aria leaned back slowly. "I heard him call me a whore."

I flinched before I could stop myself.

"And you said nothing."

"It's not that simple."

"Really?" Her voice sharpened. "Because it sounded pretty simple from where I was standing."

I dragged a hand down my face. "I didn't agree with him."

"But you didn't defend me either."

The accusation landed cleanly.

No anger. No yelling.

Just disappointment.

Somehow, that felt worse.

"I was trying to stop him from forcing a council vote," I said. "Every word in that room mattered."

"And I didn't."

"That's not what I meant."

"It's exactly what you meant."

She shoved another file aside, breathing harder now. "You stood there while he talked about me like garbage. Like I was some problem you needed to clean up."

My wolf snarled violently.

Not at her.

At myself.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," I admitted quietly.

That made her freeze.

The words came out before I could stop them.

"Half the time, all I want is to protect you. The other half..." I swallowed hard. "It's like something stops me."

Her expression shifted slightly.

Confusion.

Hope.

Fear.

"I feel like I'm losing my damn mind," I muttered.

The headache started again immediately. Sharp pressure behind my eyes.

Aria studied me carefully now. Really studied me.

Not with hatred this time.

Like she was trying to figure something out.

"Caden..." she said softly.

I looked up.

"What if someone is controlling you?"

The pressure in my skull doubled instantly.

"What?"

"What if your memories were altered?" she asked carefully. "What if someone made you believe things that aren't true?"

"That's impossible."

But even as I said it, my chest tightened.

Because lately nothing felt real anymore.

Aria leaned forward slowly. "You told me yourself that you don't remember important things. Like me telling you your father threatened me."

I stared at her.

"I told you that?"

"More than once."

"No." I shook my head hard. "I would've remembered."

"You didn't." Her voice cracked slightly. "That's the problem."

The headache exploded.

I grabbed the edge of the table, breathing hard.

Images flashed behind my eyes.

Aria crying.

Marcus standing behind me.

Vivienne touching my arm.

Blood.

The smell of roses.

I shoved back from the table abruptly.

"Caden—"

"No." I pressed a hand against my temple. "Stop."

Her face paled. "You're remembering something."

"I'm not remembering anything."

Lie.

I was.

Fragments.

Broken pieces.

Enough to terrify me.

I paced away from the table, chest heaving. My wolf slammed against the inside of my skull.

Mate.

Protect her.

The word echoed violently through me.

I turned toward Aria again.

She'd gone still watching me. Careful. Like approaching a wounded animal.

"What exactly are you researching down here?" I demanded.

She hesitated.

That hesitation told me everything.

"You found something."

Her silence confirmed it.

I stepped closer. "Aria."

She stood too, one hand protectively moving to her stomach. "I can't trust you with it yet."

The words shouldn't have hurt.

But they did.

"You think I'd hurt you?"

"I think you don't know who you are right now."

That hit too close.

I stopped walking.

For several seconds neither of us spoke.

Then quietly, she said, "The Caden I knew would've burned the world down before letting anyone threaten me."

Pain twisted through my chest.

"And now?" I asked roughly.

Her eyes glistened.

"Now I don't know who I'm standing in front of."

God.

I wanted to deny it.

Wanted to tell her she was wrong.

But I couldn't even trust my own memories anymore.

I looked around the archive room helplessly. Files everywhere. Secrets everywhere.

My entire life suddenly felt built on rotten foundations.

"What if you're wrong?" I asked hoarsely. "What if this is who I really am?"

Aria's expression softened for the first time all night.

"No," she whispered. "It isn't."

The words almost broke me.

The headache slammed harder again, vicious enough to blur my vision. I staggered backward.

"Caden—"

I held up a hand immediately. "Don't."

I couldn't think near her.

Couldn't breathe near her.

Every instinct in me screamed to grab her and never let go.

Every other force inside me screamed to run.

I backed toward the door.

"Caden, listen to me carefully," she said urgently. "Your father and Thorne are hiding something. My parents didn't die in a rogue attack."

I froze.

She stepped closer carefully. "And I think someone made sure you never questioned it."

The pain in my skull turned blinding.

I yanked the archive door open.

"Caden."

I looked back once.

She stood under the dim archive lights surrounded by old files and dangerous truths, watching me like she still believed I could save her.

That might've been the cruelest part.

Because I didn't know if I could even save myself.

I left without another word.

But as I walked down the empty corridor, one thought kept repeating louder and louder inside my head,

What if she's right?