?Chapter 1319:


    Every word out of his mouth hit her like a p—sharp, relentless. She felt like she was drowning, like some tiny boat caught in a storm she couldn’t navigate. No anchor. No way out.


    shes of memory—fragmented, disjointed—rushed in, triggered by his voice. The ones Marc had buried. Ones she couldn’t hold onto long enough to make sense of, but couldn’t block out either.


    The Marc she remembered was gentle. Attentive. Safe.


    The Marc William described? Cold. Calcted. A liar.


    So which one was real?


    Ste’s eyes burned with disbelief. “Stop it. Just shut up,” she choked out. “I don’t believe you. You’re a monster—twisting everything. Get out. Get out!”


    She snapped, flinging anything she could get her hands on—pillows, books, the remote. It didn’t matter. She hurled them at him in a frenzy, like a trapped animalshing out.


    William didn’t dodge. He just stood there, letting her rage crash over him.


    She wasn’t ready to face the truth. He could see it—clear as day.


    And for a second, some twisted part of him had enjoyed watching her crack.


    But now? Now, all he felt was an ache settling deep in his chest.


    This—her pain—was his fault. He’d lit the match.


    Did knowing Marc’s true nature hurt her so much?


    And still… when the pillow hit him, something snapped. He cursed under his breath.


    Then, before either of them could think, he closed the distance and grabbed her by the throat, pushing her down onto the bed.


    “You call me dirty?” he growled, face inches from hers. “Then what does that make you, Ste? You’re here with me. You let me touch you. So if I’m dirty… let’s rot together.”


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    Her breath caught. That look in his eyes—unhinged, intense—was the same as that night. She knew where this was headed.


    Fear jolted through her. Before he could move again, she turned her head and bit down on his shoulder, hard.


    William flinched, pain shing across his face—but he didn’t back off. Didn’t stop.


    If biting was what it took, then so be it. If they were destined for hatred, then let it be absolute. After all, hatred ousted love.


    An hourter, Ste copsed onto the bed, her strengthpletely drained. She pressed her face into the pillow, muffling her broken sobs.


    Her mind was chaos—William’s venomous words and Marc’s gentle smile collided again and again, throbbing behind her eyes until she thought her head would split.


    “Please,” she prayed, the words silent and desperate. “Let this be a nightmare. Let me wake up, and let none of this be real.”


    When William finally rose, he left the bedroom without looking back and locked himself in the study.


    Sitting behind his desk, his mind was flooded with the sound of Ste’s desperate, agonized sobs from moments before. His hand clenched until his knuckles whitened before mming hard against the table, the sound sharp and final.


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