Chapter 43 43
Chapter 43 43
Zara’s POV
Bella’s suggestion from the night before had lingered in my mind like a whisper I couldn’t silence.
Go see your father but at the time, I brushed it off. The idea alone made my chest tighten and my lungs feel too small but the image of my mother locked away in her room, barely eating, and barely speaking kept pushing me forward.
So after school, with my heart pounding louder than my thoughts, I found myself standing in front of the prison gates.
It was cold, gray and suffocating, just like the life that had been forced on us.
“I’m here to see my father,” I told the guard at the entrance, forcing strength into my voice even though my fingers trembled slightly at my sides.
The man didn’t even hesitate. “Sorry, ma’am but you’re not allowed in.”
I blinked, totally confused. “What?”
His expression didn’t change as he folded his arms. “We’ve been given strict orders that Zara Hale is not to be granted access into this facility.”
The words hit me like a slap, I wasnot allowe to see my own father?
Anger flared, sharp and hot in my chest. “That doesn’t make any sense. This is a visitation center and I have every right to see my father”
“But who exactly gave you those fucking orders?”
A calm but authoritative voice cut through my protest and I froze because I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
It was Elara, she was the last person I was expecting to see here.
So I slowly looked over my shoulder and my stomach tightening as she stepped forward with effortless elegance, her heels clicking softly against the ground like a warning.
The woman who had taken everything that was once mine was now helping me.
She crossed her arms, her gaze sharp as it pinned the guard in place. “Because I’m quite certain my father the alpha did not approve of such a restriction.”
"Or have you started making laws yourself without going through the alpha?"
The guard visibly paled. “M-Miss Lycarr… I didn’t realize you were visiting...”
“Clearly,” she interrupted coolly. “Now answer the question. Why is my… friend being denied access to her father?”
Friend, did she just called me her friend?
The word felt strange, completely wrong yet oddly… useful at this point.
I studied her, suspicion curling in my chest but why was she helping me?
The guard swallowed hard, glancing between us like he was walking a tightrope over fire.
“I… I must have misunderstood the orders,” he stammered quickly. “Of course she can go in.”
Just like that the doors opened, and I once again understand the power Elara carried so effortlessly. The kind that bent rules, broke barriers… and reminded me exactly why Kaelan had chosen her over me.
I met her eyes briefly and there were a thousand things I wanted to say like why are you doing this?
Do you pity me or is this another game?
But none of it came out instead I gave a small nod tight but controlled and walked past her without another word.
If I stayed any longer, I might say something I couldn’t take back.
The inside of the prison was colder and very dark.
Each step echoed, heavy with dread, as a guard escorted me into the visitation room and I sat down at the metal table, my hands clasped tightly together in my lap.
The seconds stretched painfully and then the door opened.
My breath caught as he stepped inside, my father or… what was left of him.
A sharp gasp tore from my throat before I could stop it.
His face was bruised and swollen. Cuts lined his skin, some fresh, some barely healed.
His once-strong posture had diminished into something fragile and broken.
This wasn’t the man who used to lift me onto his shoulders and this wasn’t the man who laughed loudly and who protected us like the world itself feared him.
This was a man who had been destroyed.
“Zara…” His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper and something inside me shattered.
“Dad…” My lips trembled as tears burned my eyes. “Oh my God… what did they do to you?”
He gave me a weak smile, like he was trying to comfort me despite everything. “I’m alright,” he lied and I knew.
I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms just to stay grounded. I wanted to run to him, to hold him, to fix this but.....
“No touching,” the guard reminded sharply from the corner.
The words felt cruel and unnecessary as if this moment wasn’t already unbearable.
My father slowly sat across from me, wincing slightly with the movement. I noticed everything every flinch, every breath that seemed just a little too painful.
“I never thought I’d see you here,” he murmured and guilt slammed into me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have come sooner. I just… I didn’t know how to face this.”
He shook his head gently. “This place… it’s not for you, I understand.”
His understanding only made it worse.
Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold together the pieces of a heart that felt like it was being crushed in slow motion.
“How’s your mother?” he asked quietly.
The question broke me. “She’s not okay,” I admitted, my voice cracking.
“She barely leaves her room and she barely eats. It’s like… she’s fading, Dad and I don’t know what to do.”
My voice dropped into a whisper. “I’m losing her too.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy with pain and things neither of us knew how to fix.
For a moment, I forgot about Kaelan and Elara.
About Darius… and the dangerous pull he had begun to have on my life.
In that moment, I was just a daughter watching her world fall apart piece by piece and realizing this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to me not even close.