E pov

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    b74 /b

    55 vouchers

    No…. he had found out about everything. It couldn’t be. I wished with all my heart that it wasn’t real, but he had said it with his very mouth, ring at me with a killing aura so strong it knocked me off my feet.

    I fell to the ground, chest tightening, a mouthful of blood spilling and sttering across the floor, while the air in the room seemed to vanish, leaving everything suffocating and nearly impossible to breathe.

    This was the first time I had ever seen him this furious. Cassain rarely lost his temper, even when I threw tantrums, even when I openly spoke about Darius and how I wanted him as my mate instead of Cassain, he would simply roll his eyes, ignore me, and im he had no time for my nonsense.

    But today… today, as I stared into his furious gaze, I finally understood how terrifying he truly was when enraged. Fear gripped me so tightly that all I wanted was to run and hide from the man before me.

    But I couldn’t. I could only stare up at him as he towered over me and hiss out.

    “Do you think I’m an idiot, E? Know who you stand before. I am the king’s beta. I will not tolerate any disrespect from you.”

    My body trembled uncontrobly from fear as I heard his words, my mouth parting, wanting to speak but unable to, the words had died in my throat as Cassain spoke again.

    “The maid said it was you who bribed her into luring the king’s mate into that room, and we have a witness who saw this. Yet you are denying it in front of me? Goddess, E, how much of a fool do you think I am? How could you do such a thing!”

    Cassain snapped at me, and I flinched, instinctively backing away, my eyes wide as I met his gaze.

    “Do you realize the gravity of what you’ve done!? The king has asked me to bring you to the packhouse, to the dungeon, so he can interrogate you!”

    The moment the words left his mouth, I snapped out of my daze. My jaw nearly dropped as I pped a hand over my mouth, stunned.

    “W–what did you say?” I asked, lifting myself slightly off the ground, leaning toward Cassain, grabbing his hand as he looked down at me with cold eyes.

    “D–did you just say the king has found out? A–and he’s asked you to bring me to him for interrogation? Is that what you’re telling me?” I asked, tears brimming in my eyes, stinging as I looked up at him.

    No, no, no!

    bIt /bcouldn’t be.

    This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening.

    Cassain wasn’t the only one who had found out but the king? Darius had discovered I was the one who did this, and now he wanted Cassain to bring me to him.

    b11:10 /bFrib, /bbSep /b12

    …

    74

    55 vouchers

    But he couldn’t… I couldn’t go to him.

    If I did, I would really die! I had heard that anyone interrogated by Darius never came back alive, they returned only as cold corpses. And now he wanted to interrogate me, especially after what I’d done?

    Oh goddessb… /bI was truly doomed. I was in so much trouble.

    Cassain didn’t move an inch as he watched me cry. His eyes, now emotionlessb, /bstared at me as though he wasn’t the least bit moved by my tears.

    And when he didn’t answer, I forgot the earlier fear I had felt and gripped his hand tighter, snapping at him.

    “I asked you a question, Cassain! Answer me! Did the king find out? Did he tell you to bring me to him?” I demanded, my voice trembling with fear.

    But Cassain only red at me, still saying nothing as he watched me.

    This man! Even though I knew I had done something wrong, how could he just tell me this with a straight face, without so much as a reaction?

    Goddess, if what he said was true, then I was really dead. A goner.

    “Cassain! Answer me-”

    My words cut off as my hands were suddenly flung away by him.

    “Mydy!” Quinn whispered, breathless.

    My eyes widened, trying to process what he had just done, and a gasp escaped me as my chin was suddenly seized. I was pulled closer to Cassain, only to find that he had crouched to my level, his face just inches from mine as he red directly into my eyes.

    The world seemed to freeze when I saw the rage in his gaze.

    He was angry. Really angry.

    “C–cassain…”

    Before I could stop myself, I muttered, breathless, but he spoke, not interested in what I wanted to say.

    “I have tolerated you long enough, E. I have tolerated your nonsense, and I won’t anymore. Every day, you long for another man without holding back. I am your mate, but you don’t care about that or about me. You only care about what you can never have. So why should I keep caring about you?”

    His voice was low, barely a whisper, and for some reason that frightened me even more than if he had yelled,

    At that moment, I realized something felt terribly wrong.

    I didn’t say anything; I just stared at him.

    Then, the door opened, and I watched my father step inside the room, his eyes wide with surprise before

    b11:11 /bFri, Sep 12

    …

    narrowing on the scene.

    b74 /b

    E55 vouchers

    “What is happening here? Beta Cassain, can you exin why my daughter is on the ground?” he asked.

    Cassain didn’t even spare him a nce. His eyes remained locked on me, narrowed and cold.

    “Why should I keep letting you have your way when I don’t even feel anything towards you?”

    He continued, and as soon as I heard his words, my eyes stung and tears began to flow.

    D–did he just say that? He didn’t feel anything towards me?

    No… it couldn’t be true. Cassain loved me. He had always loved me.

    That was why he hadn’t rejected me-

    “So I have made the decision to reject you, E.”

    Thump. Thump. Thump.

    My heart almost burst out of my chest at his words. I could hear the sharp intake of breath from everyone around me… but I couldn’t do anything. I remained frozen in ce, trying to process what he had just said.

    He didn’t hesitate before continuing.

    “I, Beta Cassain of the Lunaris Dominion, reject you, E, as my mate.”