Chapter 162 Dust to Dust

    Leslie’s POV

    Of course I remembered that day.

    Liana stood before me, holding the discarded engagement ring in her hand, wearing the kindest, most innocent expression… bas /bshe delivered the cruelest blow.

    I would never forget that confrontation for the rest of my life.

    That was the moment I gave up on our bond entirely.

    Sorrow, suffocation, fury–it all dragged me into a darkness I couldn’t bsee /bthe end of.

    But thankfully, I made it out.

    b32 /b

    Finished

    Now, seeing the flicker of confusion and pain in Kirby’s eyes, I felt nothing but cold contempt.

    i“/iHe’s iputting /iion /iia /iishow/i,” Asphodel murmured in my mind, tone biting. i“/iiDon’t /iifall /iifor /iiti, /iiLeslie/i. A icold/ii–/iiblooded /iiwolf /iidoesn’t /iifeel /iipain/ii./ii” /i

    Maybe I had just misread everything.

    Kirby–he was never capable of love. Not for me.

    So why should I care?

    I nced at him, eyes cool and distant.

    “I imagine,” I said evenly, “that the Alpha must have been utterly disgusted by the Leslie of three byears /bago. So much so, even a gift like this ring became a burden. No need to return something you never wanted in the first ce.”

    Even bas /bthe words left my mouth, I felt ridiculous.

    “No.” His voice bwas /bso low, I barely caught it.

    Kirby’s POV

    No.

    I had never hated her.

    And with that single truth, my emotions shattered, one piece at a time,

    b1/4 /b

    b15:50 /bbWed/bb, /bbSep /bb17 /b

    Chapter 162 Dust to Dust

    632

    Finished

    Tension gripped my whole body, the air around me thick with my Alpha pheromones spiraling out of control–icy, oppressive.

    Freezing.

    I tried to think–tried to remember. Had I ever truly drunk myself stupid and ended up at Liana’s ce?

    Impossible.

    As a top–ranked Alpha, even inebriated, I would inever /ispend the night at a Beta’s home. That was pride, that was instinct–it was our bloodline.

    No doubt about it. Liana had lied.

    A thick fog of fury curled in my chest, pressing in from all sides.

    That liar–Liana. I should never have been so soft with her.

    Frowning sharply, I finally said it aloud. “She lied. I never spent the night at her ce. And I damn sure never tossed that ring away while drunk—”

    bLeslie’s /bPOV

    “She lied. I never stayed there!”

    I gave him a calm, disinterested smile. “Is that so?”

    His words floated past my ears like a breeze–passing through, stirring nothing.

    True or not, I no longer cared.

    Those scars from our marriage had long since scabbed over. I had no interest in reopening them.

    “He icares /iiwhat /iiyou /iithink/ii,/ii” /iAsphodel whispered with a wry edge. i“/iiBut /iiyou /iidon’t/i, Leslie. iNot /ianymorei./ii” /i

    Kirby’s eyes were storm–dark, lips parted as if holding something back. “I know you hate me, Leslie. If I could fix what I broke, I would. I swear it.”

    Fix? What a joke.

    I gave a soft, humorlessugh, gaze cool as ever.

    “You’ve agreed to my terms, Alpha. That’s enough. Once this bis /bsettled, we’re even.”

    No debts. No tiesb. /b

    b15:50 Wed/bb, /bbSep /b17

    Chapter 162 Dust to Dust

    :

    I bwas /bthe princess of Rogue Pack. I didn’t need his pity. Or his guilt.

    I didn’t give him a chance to say another word.

    I pressed the inte. “Liam. Show him out.”

    Liam entered and bowed politely. “Alpha Kirby, this way.”

    As Kirby’s silhouette disappeared behind the door, I leaned back in my chair.

    The weight in my chest slowly began to lift.

    b32 /b

    Finished

    Even after he was gone, the air was still thick with the fading trace of his pheromonesb–/bsorrow, regret, pain.

    Once upon a time, I would have drowned in that scent.

    But now?

    Now it was the line in the sand.

    What I had once clung to in desperation had finally,pletely, been left behind.

    One–sided affection always ends the same. If you bet everything, you have to ept the loss.

    You can bleed, break, beg–but none of it matters if they don’t love you back.

    Kirby never loved Leslie.

    i“/iiNo/i,” Asphodel said quietly, a tone I couldn’t ce in her voice. i“/iiHe’s /iilying/ii. /iiHis /iiwolf /iiis /iihowling/ii, /iiLeslie/i. iIt’s /iin ipain/ii—/iifor /iiyou/ii./i”

    “So what?” I answered coldly. “It’s toote.”

    I got up and walked to the bronze sculpture–the one with the rings.

    I plucked the pair of engagement bands from the branch and stepped to the window.

    Then, without a shred of hesitation, I let go,

    The rings arced through the air in a gleaming curve before vanishing into the iron maze of the city.

    Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes.

    b3/4 /b