Chapter 234 My Punishment


    Chapter 234 My Punishment


    TESSA


    :


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    “Are you alright, dear?” Edith asked, her voice soft yetced with concern, as I stood at the sink rinsing thest of the tes. Water dripped from my gloved fingers, and steam rose from the basin, carrying with it the faint scent of soap and boiled cabbage from lunch.


    I forced a nod, even though my head throbbed with a dull ache that had been lingering since morning. “I’m fine, Edith,” I replied, letting the words fall as casually as I could. My tone might have convinced someone else, but not her.


    She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “It’s only been days, Rowan, and they’re already asking too much from you. How many roofs have you fixed now? Four? Five? And those swings in the yground-don’t think I didn’t notice you stayingte into the night to sand them smooth. That isn’t light work, especially not for someone running on exhaustion.”


    I chuckled faintly and shook my head. “It’s fine. Really. I like doing such work.”


    And I meant it, though not in the way she thought.


    Internally, I realized just how refreshing it was to trade pack documents and political maneuverings for something that required no negotiation-only effort. For so long, my hands had signed decrees and written orders, but now they held tools, bore blisters, and aplished something visible. It had been years since I’d felt truly appreciated for what I did, not because of my title or because people feared me.


    “You shouldn’t stretch yourself too thin, young man,” Winston’s voice grumbled from the living room, carrying across the small house.


    I turned slightly, catching a glimpse of him leaning in his chair, spectacles sliding down his nose as he pretended to read the newspaper.


    I have been staying with them for several days now. They had taken me in since I had nowhere else to go. At first, Winston had been wary. However, I understood him. He knew what I had done to Tessa. Everyone did. His suspicion wasn’t misced. I deserved his mistrust.


    But slowly, he began to trust me. Maybe it was the way I didn’t fight back when he scolded me. Maybe it was the fact that I rose with the sun to help fix what was broken, and returned with dirt-stained clothes but noints. Whatever the reason, he had softened in the past few days. His gruffness had begun to take on another shape-one that sounded like advice.


    “Take it from someone like me,” he said now, folding the paper with a firm flick. “It’s good to help. It’s good to please people. But you should ce yourself first. Because if you don’t, boy,


    Chapter 234 My Punishment


    you’ll break yourself apart before you can make a difference.”


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    I stilled, my hands hovering over the dish towel. I pulled off the gloves and set them on the counter. My voice came out quieter than I intended. “I’ve ced myself first for a long time,” I muttered, staring at the bubbles popping in the sink. “That’s why I’ve hurt so many people.”


    The room fell into a moment of silence, broken only by the drip of the faucet. I could feel Winston watching me, and then Edith, too.


    Finally, Edith’s gentle voice cut through. “Were you doing it for yourself… or for your sense of identity?”


    I lifted my gaze to her, confused. She wiped her hands on her apron, stepping closer. “Because it’s different, Rowan. Doing something purely for gain—that’s selfish. But doing something to find out who you are, to gain a sense of self… that’s not the same. That’s searching, even if it leads you down the wrong path first.”


    Her wordsnded somewhere deep, in a ce I didn’t often let others reach. Searching. Was that what I had been doing all along? Trying to prove I was someone worthy, someone strong, even if it meant losing myself in the process?


    “Don’t be too hard on yourself for what happened in the past, young man,” Edith added, her tone motherly. “Rest now. I’ll tell the pack members to be easy on you.”


    I managed a small smile. “Thank you.”


    But even as I spoke, my mind went to one person.


    “I’m going to rest then,” I said, though the words were a flimsy excuse for what I really intended. I exhaled, setting the dish towel aside. “I’m going to Tessa.” The words came without hesitation, like an arrow flying straight to its target.


    Edith’s lips curved into a knowing smile, a chuckle escaping her. “Go ahead. It seems you’ve been wanting to do so for the longest time.”


    I nodded, already heading for the door. The anticipation in my chest burned like kindling catching me,


    But before I could step out, Winston’s voice stopped me.


    “Rowan.”


    I turned back. “Don’t hurt her again.”


    A small smile tugged at my lips. It wasn’t mockery, nor was it careless.


    Chapter 234 My Punishment


    “I won’t,” I said with conviction.


    ***


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    I walked toward Tessa’s ce, my steps quicker than I’d intended, excitement pulsing through my veins. The sun was still high in the sky, and all I could think about was her. I hadn’t seen her all day because I’d been running errands for half the pack.


    Halfway up the path, I sneezed before coughing. I frowned, rubbing my nose.


    Was I getting sick? No, this was nothing. It was most probably amon cold from adjusting to a new ce. The nights here were colder than what I’d grown used to. My body just hadn’t caught up yet.


    I hadn’t been sick in years-not even when I’d drowned myself in work to escape the crushing truth of what I’d be. Back then, I had been unstoppable in my cruelty, throwing myself into duty after duty to avoid facing how much of a bastard I was. My body had endured every sleepless night and self-inflicted punishment, but now, after a few days of honestbor, I was sneezing. It was honestly quite pathetic.


    I exhaled and shook my head, forcing myself to focus. As I approached her house, my chest lifted with hope. The door was open. But when I stepped close enough to see inside, my feet stopped.


    My breath caught, turning to stone in my lungs when I saw Tessa and Owen in each other’s


    arms.


    My knees went weak, my throat tightened, and I couldn’t move. To add to the pain, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek.


    I turned my face away because I couldn’t bear it. My chest ached so sharply that I clutched it with my hand, fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt. But the ache only grew with each passing second. And before I even realized it, my legs were moving.


    Step by step, I turned away from that open door. From the house that suddenly felt like it had no ce for me inside.


    I walked away.


    I knew I deserved this-everyst bit of it. All the pain and all the punishment. But knowing it didn’t dull the agony. If anything, it made it worse.


    I kept walking, but the farther I went, the heavier my body felt. Each step dragged, like I was carrying the weight of every mistake I’d ever made.


    Chapter 234 My Punishment


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    Then I stumbled. I took a sharp breath, the world suddenly spinning in circles.


    What is this?


    Was my heart hurting so much that it was making me sick?


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    Pathetic, really. To crumble like this just because I couldn’t bear the sight of her in someone else’s arms.


    I tried to push forward, but my legs gave out beneath me.


    And then my body folded to the ground as darkness swept over me.


    Copsing.