Chapter 74 How Can I Stay?
Chapter 74 How Can I Stay?
ARDEN
I needed to see him.
I didn’t inform him beforehand.
<b>+5 </b>Free Coins
I didn’t text; I didn’t knock more than once. I didn’t even hesitate. My feet carried me across the streets to Cade’s private unit like my body had made the decision on its own. My heart pounded in my ears as I reached the front of his door.
<i>Was </i><i>I </i><i>being </i><i>reckless</i>?
Maybe. But I couldn’t breathe–not after what Elias had said and not after what I’d read. Somehow, the only person who could make sense of this feeling of chaos was Cade.
I lifted my fist to knock, but before I could, the door creaked open.
Cade stood there, shirtless, hair tousled. His eyes widened when he saw me standing there, breathless and desperate.
Without thinking, I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around him.
He caught me, his strong arms enveloping me as I buried my face against his shoulder. He smelled like pine and warmth–likefort itself.
“Arden?” he asked softly, concern seen across his features. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
I didn’t answer immediately. I merely held onto him tighter.
It wasn’t until his hand gently rubbed my back that I felt the sting behind my eyes finally begin to settle. “I wanted–no, I needed to see you,” I breathed out.
He pulled me back slowly, just enough to look at me. His brows furrowed deeply. “What happened?”
Then something flickered in his expression. “Have you found out already?” he asked.
“Found out about what?<b>” </b>
<i>“</i><i>Sienna’s </i><i>expulsion</i><i>.</i><i>” </i>
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I looked up at him with wide eyes, my surprise mirroring his.
“You didn’t know?” he asked.
I shook my head, confused. “What are you talking about?”
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Cade stepped aside to let me in, shutting the door behind us with a soft click. “Someone from the faction caught her cheating.”
“Cheating?”
“During the preliminary exams,” he said, his tone serious. “It’s one of the highest forms of misconduct at Elite.”
My lips parted in surprise.
“That’s grounds for immediate expulsion,” he continued. “More than anything else, she should’ve been kicked out ages ago. Fortunately, there was concrete evidence this time.”
I felt augh bubble up in
my throat.
I looked at him again, this time with something lighter in my chest, and hugged him once
more.
He smiled against my hair and gently guided me toward the couch. We both sank into the cushions, the quiet hum of the setting sun wrapping around us like a warm nket.
“Thank you, Cade,” I muttered after a while.
“I didn’t do anything,” he whispered back, still holding me close. “She did this to herself.”
Wey in silence and warmth for a while before it snapped back to me why I hade here in the first ce.
I reached into my bag and carefully pulled out the diary and the ne I had tucked away. Cade’s brow furrowed as he noticed them.
“I found this in the library,” I murmured, setting the weathered journal on hisp. “It belonged to one of the students–from nearly ten years ago.”
He turned the cover gently, his eyes scanning the first few pages as if searching for clues.
“It starts off hopeful,” I said, easing into the memory. “She talks about how excited she was to
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Chapter 74 How Can I Stay?
be at Elite, how great Winters was. But then, as it goes on, her entries change.”
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I held up the photo, the image faded, but the girls were clear–smiling, happy,pletely unaware of the darkness that wasing.
“She and her friends,” I whispered. “The same ones we found. Cade… I think they were the ones buried beneath the cabin.”
His jaw tensed. He ran a hand down the page, murmuring, “This all lines up.”
“I think it started with the point system,” I spected. “The way she wrote about it–it felt new back then. But there were lines between the entries that made me feel sick. I think Winters wanted to participate directly at one point.”
Cade’s eyes darkened as he flipped to another page. “Winters is a pervert.”
“Yes,” I muttered, anger bubbling beneath the surface. “He built this system to feed off his fantasies. And we all bought into it. We let him make us believe this was normal. Who knows what he’s doing with that footage?”
Cade remained silent for a long time, processing the gravity of it all. Finally, he set the diary aside, his face hardening with resolve. “The United Factions meeting is next week.”
“I’m going to infiltrate Winters‘ office,” he dered.
“What?” I sat up straighter, rmed. “You can’t do that alone.”
“I have to,” he said firmly. “It’s the only chance we’ll get. He’s letting me in because I’m the top student right now. It’s a reward, technically. I can use that.”
“Then I’lle with you,” I insisted.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head.
My breath caught in my throat. “Why not?”
He looked at me then. “Winters only gave permission for me. And besides-”
“Besides what?” I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended.
“I don’t want you to get hurt, Arden,” he whispered, his gaze locking onto mine. <i>“</i><i>Anything </i><i>but </i><i>that</i><i>.</i><i>” </i>
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I was rendered speechless, the sincerity in his eyes leaving me momentarily without words.
After a pause, I finally managed to find the right questions to ask.
“<i>Why</i><i>… </i>don’t you want me to get hurt?”
He hesitated, his lips parting to answer.
“Because…”
My heart stilled, my breath caught in my throat, and every part of me craved <i>to </i>hear what woulde next.
<i>Because </i>what<i>, </i><i>Cade</i><i>? </i>Because you care about me? Because this means something to you too?
<i>Because </i><i>you </i><i>like </i><i>me </i><i>too</i><i>? </i>
But just as he was about to speak, his phone buzzed violently, shattering the moment. Cade nced at the screen, and I saw a shift in his expression, a subtle change that made my stomach twist.
“Wait for me, okay?” he said, his voice dropping to an unexpectedly soft tone. “Just stay right there. I’ll <i>take </i>this.”
He was already striding toward the balcony, pushing the ss door open with a soft creak and stepping into the tranquil embrace of the night.
I remained seated, my hands folded tightly in myp, still reeling from our exchange. My chest rose and fell a little too quickly, a rapid rhythm that felt out of ce. I found my gaze lingering on the diary on the coffee table, the photo beneath it. The ney beside them, its shine dulled in the warm glow of the light. Just moments ago, they had held my focus, but now my thoughts were miles away, racing in circles.
The words “<i>Because</i>…” echoed endlessly in my mind, an unresolved riddle.
But he didn’t finish. <i>He </i><i>didn’t </i><i>say </i><ol><li>it. </li></ol>
Compelled by something inside me, I stood slowly, as if pulled toward the balcony by an invisible thread. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, yet here I was, unable to resist the pull.
My bare feet padded softly across the floor, and I paused by the door, standing just far enough to remain out of sight but close enough to catch the sound.
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“… <i>Honey</i><i>?</i>” Cade’s voice drifted in, light and familiar, wrapped in warmth.
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“Yes, I’m fine,” he said. “I’m heading home. Alright? Yes. I promise. Please, Honey… don’t do this.”
I flinched, backing away from the door.
The name rang in my ears like a cruel reminder, a sharp intrusion.
<i>Honey</i>.
Again.
That name.
The one he called out in his sleep. The one that haunted his dreams.
I sank onto the couch, the air suddenly thick and suffocating. My heart clenched painfully in my chest, and my hands turned cold.
So, <i>she </i>was real.
He still called her that. Still spoke her name with tenderness. <i>With </i><i>love</i>.
“<i>Please</i>, <i>Honey</i><i>. </i><i>Don’t </i><i>do </i><i>this</i><i>.</i><i>” </i>
I pressed my hands against my chest, trying to hold back a tide of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. But it was already toote; the floodgates had opened.
All the thoughts came rushing in, relentless and cruel.
Was she his mate?
Someone from his past? A love lost that he couldn’t let go of?
<i>Was </i><i>I </i><i>merely </i><i>a </i><i>ceholder</i><i>? </i>
Just someone convenient to hold until the real one came back into his life?
“Arden,” Cade’s voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. He burst back through the balcony door, urgency carved into every feature of his face. “I need to leave. I’m so sorry.”
I stood up slowly, refusing to meet his eyes. “I… I can take myself back.”
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Chapter 74 How Can I Stay?
Cade reached out slightly. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I whispered, stepping back to put more distance between us.
s
He looked torn, caught between two conflicting desires. “No, it’ste. You can stay here until the morning. I’ll <i>be </i>back, okay? I promise.”
I managed a nod, a weak and hesitant affirmation that was all I could muster.
But stay?
<i>How </i><i>could </i><i>I </i><i>stay</i><i>? </i>
How could I possibly sit in his space when I didn’t even know who she was or what I truly meant to him?
He hovered at the door for a moment, indecision ying across his features. Then, with one lingering look at me, he <i>left</i><i>. </i>
The door clicked shut behind him, and I found myself alone, enveloped in silence.
Alone with questions that burned both my heart and throat, craving answers I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.