Chapter 134

Chapter 134
Adrian  

Clara’s hands were shaking.  Her grip on the gun was tight, her knuckles white from the pressure. Her breathing was ragged, uneven, as if she were struggling to keep herself from breaking apart entirely.  

She had been screaming just moments ago. Now, she was silent. Davis’s blood was still on her hands, staining her skin, seeping into her clothes. His body lay motionless on the floor, his fingers still curled from the last desperate attempt to hold onto her.  

And now, all that was left was she and the gun. Kelly stood frozen a few feet away, her face pale, her eyes wide with something between shock and sorrow.  

Neither of them moved.  

The only sound in the room was Clara’s shallow breathing, the gun trembling in her grasp as she pointed it at Kelly’s chest.  

I stepped forward. Slowly. Carefully.  

“Clara,” I said, keeping my voice level. “Put the gun down.”  

She didn’t look at me.  

Her gaze was locked onto Kelly, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.  I took another step.  

“Clara,” I tried again. “This isn’t the way.”  

Her fingers twitched around the trigger. “She—” Her voice was hoarse, raw.   

“She didn’t know.”  

Clara let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “And you expect me to believe that?”  

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Because it’s the truth.”  

Kelly still hadn’t moved. Her shoulders were stiff, her hands at her sides. But I could see it, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed, the way her fingers curled slightly as if trying to keep herself grounded.  

She looked shocked. Clara’s hands shook harder.  

“Clara,” I said, stepping even closer. “If you pull that trigger, you become just like Davis.”  

That got her attention. Her eyes moved to me, filled with something like pain and hesitation. I kept going.  

“If you shoot Kelly now, you’re not just taking revenge,” I said quietly. “You’re becoming the thing you hate. Is that what you want?”  

She sucked in a sharp breath. Lucian was still watching from the corner, his posture tensed but unreadable. He had his gun, but he hadn’t moved to use it. Because we all knew, this wasn’t about Davis anymore. This was about saving Clara and Kelly.  

Her fingers loosened slightly on the trigger. I saw the exact moment, the weight of it all. And for what? Revenge?  Hatred?  Would it really change anything?  

Clara’s hands shook violently, her entire body trembling as the rage, the grief, the exhaustion, all of it finally caught up to her.  

She let out a choked breath. Then, the gun slipped from her fingers.  It clattered against the ground, the sharp sound echoing through the room.  

Kelly exhaled shakily. Lucian took a careful step forward, eyeing Clara warily. 

“It’s over,” he said, his voice low.  

Clara didn’t respond. She just… stared at the floor. At nothing.  At everything she had lost. I watched her carefully, my own heart still pounding in my chest.  

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kelly move. She stepped forward, her breathing uneven, her eyes glistening with something I hadn’t seen before.  

She looked at Clara, then at Davis’s still body.  I knew what was running through her mind.  

How much of this had been caused by her father’s sins?  How many lives had been ruined because of the past?  Because of a cycle of revenge that had never been broken?  

Kelly took a shaky breath.  

Lucian stepped forward again, his expression unreadable. 

“I will take her in.”  

Kelly’s head snapped up. Something in her face changed.  

“She didn’t do anything wrong,” Kelly said softly. “Let her go.” 

Lucian stiffened.  Clara flinched, her head snapping up in disbelief.  

“What?” Lucian said sharply.  

Kelly swallowed hard. “Let her go.”  

Lucian stared at her. “Kelly, she just tried to kill you.”  

“She lost everything,” Kelly murmured. “Just like I did.”  

No one spoke.  

I stepped closer, watching Kelly carefully. “Are you sure about this?”  

She let out a slow breath. Then, for the first time, she cracked. A sob tore from her throat, her body shaking as she covered her face with her hands. I barely had time to react before she crumpled to the ground, her shoulders trembling violently.  

I moved before I could think. I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands hovering for a moment before I placed them on her shoulders. 

“Kelly….”  

She sucked in a sharp breath, shaking her head, but the sobs wouldn’t stop.  

“I didn’t know,” she gasped, her voice shaking. “I swear, I didn’t know….”  

“I know,” I said quietly.  

She shook her head harder. Tears streamed down her face, her hands clenching into fists.  

Lucian was still standing there, stiff and unmoving. Clara was frozen, watching, her own expression unreadable.  I just pulled Kelly closer, letting her cry.  Because the truth was, I knew enough to know that telling her I knew would have still broken her.  

And maybe, deep down, I had been too much of a coward to not say anything. Because I had seen the way she suffered. The way she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, even when she was already drowning.  And I hadn’t wanted to add more.  

Kelly let out another broken sob, her entire body shaking.  And for the first time, I didn’t try to stop her.  I just let her cry. Because maybe, just maybe, this was the moment things will finally change.  

The past can’t be undone. The pain can’t be erased.  

But It was time to let go. And as I held Kelly, her sobs echoing through the empty room, I knew she was finally starting to let go, too.