Chapter 199 I Disagree

Chapter 199 I Disagree

Ember's POV

I spun around in shock. Asher was standing at the entrance, leaning on a crutch. His pant leg was soaked through with dark red blood, his suit jacket was wrinkled beyond recognition, and stubble had grown across his jaw. He looked like a complete mess — and yet somehow, none of that could hide the sharpness in him.

Those familiar eyes of his were still as keen as a hawk's. They cut straight across the noisy banquet hall and locked onto me, hard and unblinking.

The whole room erupted.

I froze where I stood, my mind going completely blank. Asher wasn't dead?

Asher paid no attention to the stunned stares around him. He just walked toward me, one steady step at a time.

He reached me quickly. He reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from the altar.

But at that same moment, Zane shot out his hand and seized my other wrist.

"Asher, what are you doing here?" Zane snapped. "You were supposed to be—"

"Dead? Is that what you were going to say?" Asher looked at him with a cold smirk. "Disappointed, Zane?"

"You—" Zane's face went dark. "Asher, this is my wedding with Ember. Get out. Now."

"Your wedding?" Asher let out a scornful laugh. "Ember is my mate. This wedding means nothing without my say-so."

Then he turned and fixed his gaze on me. His eyes were full of pain he couldn't hide, and fury he wasn't trying to. He growled at me in a low voice, "Ember, you liar. You promised me. You said you'd wait for me to come back."

"Asher, let go of her." Zane pulled me tighter and shouted at him.

Asher slowly turned his head. His cold stare swept across Zane's furious face, then dropped to the hand gripping my wrist. He said each word slowly and clearly: "You're the one who needs to let go."

Zane didn't loosen his grip at all. If anything, he held on tighter. He turned to look at me, and something desperate and fragile flickered in his eyes. "Ember, I've waited for you for so many years. We've come so far together. Please don't go."

That look hit me like a punch to the chest. A wave of sadness washed over me. I wavered. "Zane..."

"You made me a promise. You said you'd be my mate, that you'd try to open up to me. I'm not asking you to love me right away — I just need you to stay by my side. Ember, please."

His words made my lashes tremble. My eyes filled with tears before I could stop them.

Asher stood there watching my face, and his chest tightened. He knew me too well. He could see exactly what was happening — I was softening.

"Ember." Asher's voice came out low and firm. "Look at me."

I looked up at him without thinking.

"What did you promise me? Hmm?"

I bit down hard on my lower lip. Looking into his eyes — full of anger — I was so overwhelmed with guilt that I couldn't say a word.

Zane cut in, his voice sharp, breaking the tension. "Asher, you already rejected Ember. Our mate bond is completely severed. Who she chooses to be marked by has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me." Asher turned to stare at Zane, his voice absolutely certain. "I'm not letting her become the mate of a murderer."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Two tall men, each holding one of my hands, stood on that altar and refused to back down. My wrists ached from being pulled in both directions. I looked at the scene in front of me, my thoughts a tangled mess, with no idea what to do.

On one side was Asher — the person I had truly, deeply loved, who had also hurt me badly. On the other was Zane — the person who had been gentle and caring with me for years. My heart was torn in a way I couldn't put into words.

"Ember, you said you'd be my mate." Zane turned to look at me. "You can't take that back. I've given so much for you. Don't do this to me."

"When did she ever actually say that?" Asher said with a mocking edge. "Stop fooling yourself, Zane. Ember loves me. I'm the only one who will ever mark her again."

"That's a lie!" Zane shouted. "If she loved you, why would she agree to marry me? Asher, you're nothing but a selfish bastard. All you do is hurt her. I'm the only one who can make her happy!"

"Make her happy? You're a murderer. The only place you'll take her is down with you."

The whole venue exploded again. Guests whispered to each other in shock, every eye on Zane with suspicion and disbelief.

"You — stop making things up!"

"Making things up?" Asher said openly, in front of everyone. "I have all the evidence. You paid a European crime syndicate to ambush me at the airport the moment I landed. You thought I was dead in Europe, and you could marry Ember without a care in the world — isn't that right?"

"You're lying! What evidence do you have?"

"Evidence? I have plenty. And I brought a witness with me today."

Asher let go of my wrist and clapped his hands once, sharp and clear.

At the entrance to the hall, a visibly shaken man was escorted in by several men in black. The moment Zane saw who it was, the color drained completely from his face.

"Mr. Sawyer, I'm sorry." The man kept his head down, unable to look at Zane on the altar. His voice was shaking. "I had no choice. I had to tell them everything."

"You — you're lying. I don't even know you."

"The evidence is right here, and you're still trying to wriggle out of it." Asher leaned on his crutch and looked at him with cold contempt. "Let's see how long you can keep that up."

I turned, unable to believe what I was hearing, and looked at the man standing next to me — someone I thought I knew so well. "Zane, is it true? Did you really send people to kill Asher?"

Zane's mouth opened and closed.

"Yes." Suddenly, Zane let out a laugh — unhinged, hollow, full of despair. "Yes, I sent people to kill him. So what? I just wanted him gone for good. Then you'd have no choice but to be mine."

"Ember, I did all of this because I love you. I've had feelings for you for years. I waited for you in the shadows for years. I did everything for you — so why couldn't you just forget him? I had no other way. I had to cut him out of your life by force. Then it would just be you and me, and one day you'd fall in love with me. You'd truly accept me as your mate."

"You're wrong, Zane." I said it slowly, one word at a time. "This isn't love. This is selfishness. This is obsession. What you've done doesn't make me love you — it makes me afraid of you. It makes me want nothing to do with you."