Chapter 44

Zara’s POV

The way my father looked at me it broke something inside my chest.

There was so much pain in his eyes, so much helplessness, that it felt like I was the one being crushed under those prison walls especially when I mentioned my mother.

A shadow crossed his face, deep and raw, like I had just ripped open a wound that never had the chance to heal.

I knew why, he couldn’t be there for her and he couldn’t touch her or even feel her and for mates… that kind of separation was its own kind of torture.

Slowly, he lifted his hands, and my breath hitched at the sight of the silver cuffs wrapped tightly around his wrists.

My stomach twisted violently, the metal had burned into his skin, leaving angry red marks which was raw, irritated and cruel.

Silver, is the one thing that weakened wolves. The one thing that severed the bond between wolf and mate.

It wasn’t just restraint, It was punishment.

“I can’t feel her anymore,” he said quietly, his voice heavy with grief. “The silver… it blocks everything. Her emotions, her presence and even her pain.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “But I know she’s suffering,” he added.

“Mates aren’t meant to be separated like this. Her wolf will be in agony and your mother will feel every second of it.”

Tears burned my eyes again because I had seen it, the emptiness in her gaze, the silence and the way she barely existed anymore.

“I wish I could do something,” he murmured.

“But I can’t… not from here.”

I nodded slowly, my throat too tight to form words.

“The only thing you can do,” he continued gently, “is stay by her side and remind her she’s not alone that she’s loved.”

The word felt heavy and painful because love in my life had become something twisted, full of betrayal and complicated.

“I will,” I whispered, even though a part of me knew how hard that would be and I couldn’t tell him the truth.

That every time I tried to talk to my mother, she brought up Kaelan and that she still saw him as my mate and my future and she didn’t know he had already chosen someone else, chosen Elara.

I couldn’t tell him that the man who was supposed to love me forever had cast me aside and that I was now entangled in something far worse and forbidden.

I was dangerously tied to Darius but he was already suffering enough.

“I love you, Dad,” I said instead, forcing a small smile through the ache in my chest. “I miss you… every single day.”

His expression softened immediately. “I love you too, Zara.”

He reached for my hand across the table, instinctively, like he had done a thousand times before.....

“No touching.”

The guard’s sharp voice sliced through the moment and we both froze.

My father exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders visible as he leaned back again, his hand retreating like he had been burned.

The distance between us suddenly felt unbearable.

To distract himself or maybe to hold onto something normal, he cleared his throat.

“How are you holding up?” he asked. “How’s school?”

I hesitated because there were so many things I wanted to say, about my job and the dangerous contract I had signed and the man who watched me like I was something he intended to claim and how everything in my life was spiraling out of control but I couldn’t.

“I’m doing well,” I said instead, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue. “I even got a tutoring job and It pays enough and I’m already saving up.”

“For me?” he asked softly and I nodded.

A sad smile tugged at his lips.

“Don’t,” he said gently. “Don’t waste your future trying to fix my mistakes and a tutoring job… it won’t be enough for the kind of debt tied to this.”

If only he knew how much I was actually earning now… and the price that came with it.

The kind of price that had nothing to do with money.

“Time’s up.”

The guard’s voice cut through us again, colder this time and it was too soon.

My chest tightened painfully as my father pushed himself to his feet.

“Tell your mother…” he paused, swallowing hard, “tell her I love her and that I’ll come back to her no matter what it takes.”

Tears spilled freely down my cheeks now.

“I will,” I promised. “Please… take care of yourself.”

He nodded once, his eyes lingering on me like he was trying to memorize my face and then, he was gone been dragged away just like that.

I sat there for a second longer, staring at the empty space he left behind, trying to steady my breathing, trying to hold myself together but it felt like I was falling apart from the inside out.

By the time I stepped outside, the fresh air hit my face like a shock and I barely made it down the steps before I froze.

Leaning casually beside a sleek, eye-catching sports car was a figure I recognized instantly.

Elara, she was still here.

The car beside her was impossible to miss a stunning pink Mercedes-Benz S-Class, polished to perfection and gleaming under the sunlight like a statement.

“Hey,” she greeted smoothly as I approached. “Do you like it? I just picked it up today.”

Her tone was light, almost playful… but there was something beneath it and I forced a small smile.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted honestly. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”

She shrugged, like waiting for me was nothing and I was worth her time.

“You have tutoring, right?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

I nodded cautiously. “Then I’ll take you,” she said, already moving toward the driver’s side. “We might as well use the time to get to know each other.”

My stomach tightened, get to know each other?

The woman who was about to marry my mate?

The woman living the life that should have been mine?

Everything in me resisted the idea but at the same time… refusing her wasn’t simple not when she carried the Lycarr name and not when I couldn’t afford to draw attention to myself.

“That’s… kind of you,” I said carefully. “Thank you.”

She smiled, satisfied, and slipped into the driver’s seat.

I hesitated for only a second before opening the passenger door and sliding inside.

The interior was just as extravagant as the outside.custom seats, expensive finishes and every detail screaming wealth and control.

It suited her perfectly and as I sat there, buckling my seatbelt, one thought echoed in my mind there was no way she bought this herself.

This had Darius written all over it, which meant one thing even when he wasn’t there, he still was.