CHAPTER 314: CHAPTER 314 YOU LIED TO ME

He looked at me with a pained expression. "I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t be my friend. To me, your happiness is worth more than forcing you to be my wife..."

"Then, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because, I’ve fallen for you. I love you Aeris, at first it was just to make you come back to the fae realm when you encounter hardship. I brought you across the No Man’s Land because I wanted you to see how dangerous the outside was, and when you didn’t turn back, I brought you into the witches’ realm. I know I’m wrong, not only did I hurt your friends but I caused you harm too." His voice cracked at the end.

My lips quivered, but no sound came out. For a moment, all I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my ears. The words "I love you" still echoed in the air, thick and suffocating.

I blinked, trying to make sense of everything he just said. My mind was racing, my thoughts clashing against one another like raging waves.

He... loved me?

After everything? After the lies, the deceit, the manipulation?

"Rhydian," I started, my tone calm, though every muscle in my body felt tight. "Do you have any idea what you’re saying?"

His eyes softened. "I do. I’ve known it for a long time now."

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You’ve known it for a long time, yet you lied to me just the same."

He lowered his gaze, his shoulders tensing. "I didn’t want to lose you."

"You already did," I said quietly. "The moment you lied, you lost me."

The words stung even as they left my lips. I wasn’t sure if I was saying it to him or to myself, I had seen him as the rays of sunlight in my life, someone different from the arrogant and psycho Alpha. He was polite, nice, and understanding... I really thought he was different.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "I deserve that. But I need you to understand, Aeris, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I wanted to protect you from the truth until the right time came."

"The right time?" I scoffed. "And when exactly is the right time to tell someone you’ve been using them? After everything is over?"

His head shot up, his expression pained. "That’s not what it was."

"Then what was it?" I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing. "Because from where I stand, you followed me under false pretenses, pretending to care, pretending to be my friend while plotting to drag me back to the very place I ran away from. Tell me, Rhydian, what part of that wasn’t using me? And who knows if what you are saying is the complete truth?"

He flinched at my words, his lips parting as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

"I thought you were different," I continued, my voice trembling despite my best effort to steady it. "Out of everyone I met, I thought you were the one person who wouldn’t lie to me."

His expression softened, guilt flickering across his face. "You have every right to hate me. I just..."

"Then stop talking." My tone came out sharper than I intended. "Because right now, I can’t even look at you without wondering which parts of what you said were real."

Silence fell between us. The air felt heavy, thick with everything unsaid, the faint hum of the blue barrier surrounding us was the only sound.

He finally looked up, his voice soft, almost breaking. "Every moment with you was real, It just... happened. You’re not easy to ignore, no matter how hard I try."

I looked away, pretending to focus on the empty plate before me. "You shouldn’t have tried in the first place."

"How could I not when you are so amazing? I’m not trying to make you come back now because we are engaged, I just want you to love me as I love you. I thought after all the time we have spent together, you would have feelings for me..."

He stood up slowly, taking a step closer. The blue light reflected off his pale skin, making his eyes seem brighter. "Aeris, if I could go back, I’d tell you everything from the start. I’d tell you who I was, what I was sent to do, and how I fell for the person I was meant to deceive and marry."

His voice cracked again, and something inside me twisted painfully. I hated the way my heart reacted to his words, the way my chest tightened even when I told myself I should feel nothing but anger.

"I don’t want to hear any of this," I said quietly, pushing my plate aside. "You said your part, and now I know the truth. That’s enough."

"Aeris..."

"No." I stood up, cutting him off. "You think saying you love me fixes anything? It doesn’t. Love doesn’t erase lies, it doesn’t erase the pain of betrayal. For fuck sake, Damon died because of you, and I..."

’I’m dying too.’

He took another step closer, his voice trembling. "I know it doesn’t, and I was the reason Damon got hurt, but he is fine now, please forgive me Aeris... maybe this can be the beginning of something new..."

"Don’t," I warned, my tone low. "Don’t come closer."

He stopped, his hand frozen midair. The look in his eyes almost made me falter.

"You can’t play with my life, Rhydian. You can’t pretend to be my savior when you were part of the reason I suffered in the first place."

He swallowed hard, his jaw clenching. "I’ll do anything to make it right."

"Then start by staying away from me."

The words came out firm and harsh, but I could feel my chest tightening, my throat burning. I turned my back to him, not trusting myself to look at him any longer.

The sound of his breath hitched slightly. "If that’s what you want..."

"It is."

A long silence followed. Then, quietly, he murmured, "You deserve to know one more thing."

I hesitated but didn’t turn. "What?"

"The reason your mother is dying."

My breath caught. Slowly, I turned to face him. "What do you mean?"