Chapter 18 His Tears
KARA’S POV
I don’t know where the strength comes from, but my fist slams hard against his back and he wasn’t expecting it.
He stumbles forward, losing his grip on me, and crashes near the mouth of the exit. The sudden freedom makes my knees weak, but the anger burning in my chest keeps me standing. I point at him, my whole body shaking, and my voice echoing louder than the music still leaking from inside the club.
“Why did you do that to Aaron?” I scream. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
He lets out a low, sarcastic laugh and rubs the back of his head like this is all some twisted joke. Then his eyes snap back to me, sharp and dark.
“I told you,” he starts, his voice dangerous, “I don’t want anyone to t—”
“NO!” I cut him off, shouting over him, stepping closer even though fear claws at my spine. “I am not yours. I am not your belonging, and you don’t own me!”
The name slips from my lips like a weapon.
“Stay away from me, Finnian!”
That’s when I see it when he flinches. Not by anger, not by arrogance, but by something cracks in his expression.
“I’m so tired of you playing with my feelings!” I cry, my voice breaking as the words spill uncontrollably. “I hate you being around, and I don’t want to see you again! Ever!”
My chest heaves as I shout at the top of my lungs, not caring who hears, and not caring if the whole world sees me unravel. His face softens right in front of me, the rage draining away as he replaced by something that looks terrifyingly close to pain. His eyes glisten as tears gathering at the corners like he’s fighting them back.
“K-Kara, I—”
“You have a girlfriend, for God’s sake!” I cut him off again, my tears finally falling freely. “Stop fooling around, stop messing with me, and stop breaking my heart into pieces!”
The words come out ugly and raw, and once they’re out, I can’t stop crying. My hands curl into fists at my sides as my shoulders are shaking as everything I’ve been holding in finally explodes. He then steps toward me instinctively, his hand reaching out, but I shove him harder.
“Don’t touch me!”
The sound that leaves him next isn’t a laugh this time, it’s a curse. He turns away and punches the wall behind him with so much force that I hear the dull crack echo in the parking area. He runs a hand through his hair, breathing hard, and losing whatever control he had left.
“F-Fuck!” he growls, his voice breaking. “I don’t love that woman!”
I freeze.
“I don’t know what you did to me,” he continues, turning back to face me, eyes wild, voice rough. “I don’t know why I keep wanting you every single day. I don’t know what this is, Kara—but trust me, I don’t love Ysabel.”
The name hits me like a slap.
I stop crying, my tears drying mid-fall as disbelief crashes over me. He doesn’t love her, yet he kissed her like she was something precious, like she mattered.
I shake my head slowly, stepping back, and pointing at him again as if distance alone could protect me.
“I’m so done with your lies,” I say, my voice hollow now. “Leave me alone.”
I turn toward the entrance, my legs trembling, desperate to escape this madness, but he grabs me again.
Harder this time.
He slams me against the wall as his body blocking every possible way out. His face is inches from mine, his eyes dark, dangerous, and stripped of every softness from earlier. His jaw clenches as he leans in as his voice is low and full of authority.
“Try to go back to that man,” he mutters. “And I’ll crush his face until he’s unrecognizable.”
That's when my breath catches.
“Try it, Kara,” he continues, his teeth grinding together. “And you’ll see.”
My entire body trembles, fear finally overpowering anger. In that moment, I realize something that sends a chill straight through me.
This isn’t love, this is obsession.
And I don’t know how to escape him anymore.
I step backward, my foot scraping against the cold concrete as my eyes locked on him in total disbelief.
“What… what are you doing?” my voice trembles.
He suddenly drops to his knees in front of me.
The sound is dull and heavy, echoing in the empty space. My breath catches as I watch Finnian, the proud, untouchable, terrifying Finnian kneel like a man stripped of everything. His shoulders shake as his head bows, his hands clutching at nothing but air.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice cracking. “God, Kara… I’m sorry.”
I feel my chest tighten, but I don’t move closer, I don’t soften.
“I didn’t mean those words,” he continues, tears spilling freely now. “I lost control. I was angry. I was scared. Please—” he looks up at me, eyes red and desperate, “—please don’t avoid me, don’t disappear on me.”
My heart pounds so loudly it hurts.
“You scared me,” I whisper, my hands trembling at my sides. “Do you even realize that?”
“I know,” he sobs. “And I hate myself for it. I’ll change. I swear I will. Just don’t shut me out, Kara, please.”
I shake my head slowly, tears blurring my vision.
“No,” I say, my voice firmer than I feel. “You don’t get to beg after threatening people I care about.”
I push him, harder than I intend.
He loses his balance and instantly sits on the hard cemented ground with a sharp grunt. The sound makes something twist painfully inside me, but I refuse to let it show.
“You don’t love me,” I throw the words at him like knives. “You just want to own me. And I refuse to be owned.”
His face crumples.
“I never meant to hurt you,” he whispers.
“But you did,” I snap. “And that’s enough.”
The silence that follows is suffocating. I see the pain in his eyes, raw and undeniable, and for a second, my chest aches with the urge to take everything back.
But I don’t and I turn away.
I walk past him without looking back, every step feeling heavier than the last. I hear him call my name once, weak and broken, but I don’t stop.
I can’t.
The moment I reach the powder room, I lock the door behind me and collapse against it as my knees give out.
A sob rips out of my chest as I slide to the floor, pressing my hands over my mouth to muffle the sound. Tears stream down my face uncontrollably, my whole body shaking as if I’m falling apart from the inside.
“I don’t know what to do anymore,” I whisper to my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes are red, swollen, and lost.
I admit it then, in the quiet of that small room.
The moment I saw him, I fell in love very fast, reckless, and deep. And even now, even with fear crawling under my skin, even after everything, a part of me still wants him. And that terrifies me the most.
“I have to stop this,” I whisper, clutching my chest. “I have to end this before it destroys me.”
I wipe my tears, but they keep coming. Because loving him feels like drowning, and walking away feels just as painful.