<h4>Chapter 323: The Endless Pain (I)</h4>


    <strong>Warning: Read at your own risk</strong>


    <strong>- - - - -</strong>


    <strong>Kieran:</strong>


    When I stepped through the mansion doors, I could barely restrain my wolf. He was prowling beneath my skin, restless with anticipation. My chest was tight, my breaths uneven, because today... finally, after what felt like an eternity... I was going to tell her.


    No more waiting. No more hesitation. No more excuses.


    For days, I had been rehearsing the words, carrying them in my chest like a burning secret. I had imagined every possible way it could go - her disbelief, her surprise, maybe a smile if fate was kind enough. My wolf had been urging me relentlessly, his excitement bleeding into mine. Today was the day I would confess to Evaline.


    The woman I loved. The woman who had be the air I breathed without even knowing it.


    But the moment I entered the living room, the ground crumbled beneath me.


    My eyesnded on her instantly. She was nestled between them - Oscar and Draven - both their hands all over her.


    And then... I heard them say it.


    <i>"She’s our mate, brother."</i>


    For a moment, I thought I had misheard. My mind rejected the words, my wolf froze in ce. Surely... surely this was some cruel joke.


    But then Oscar’s voice, clear and unyielding, followed.


    <i>"Eva is mated to River, Draven, and me. All three of us."</i>


    My world copsed.


    No. No, that couldn’t be real. That couldn’t be my reality.


    My wolf howled in protest, thrashing inside me like a caged beast. She’s ours! She’s supposed to be ours! But the scene before me left no room for denial. She wasn’t looking at me. She wasn’t standing beside me. She was surrounded by them. My brothers.


    And before the jagged edges of those words could even finish slicing through me, Draven delivered the final blow.


    <i>"And there’s one more happy news... she’s pregnant with our child."</i>


    The air left my lungs in a violent rush.


    I stood there, frozen, a storm of emotions tearing me apart. Horror. Pain. Disbelief. My chest felt as though it had been split open, my heart ripped out and trampled right there on the marble floor. My wolf howled again, mournful this time, the sound echoing in the hollow chambers of my soul.


    I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak.


    Every dream I had dared to hold onto shattered in an instant.


    Evaline... my Evaline... the one person who had made me believe in light again, who had made me believe I could deserve happiness, wasn’t mine. She never had been. She belonged to them. To my brothers.


    And one of them had already nted his child inside her.


    I felt sick. My stomach churned violently, my hands curling into fists so tight that my nails bit into my palms. It took everything in me not to copse where I stood.


    But then Oscar’s eyes met mine, expectant, waiting for my response.


    I forced a smile.


    It felt like dragging broken ss across my lips, but I did it anyway. My brothers deserved happiness. They deserved to celebrate. Thest thing I wanted was to cast a shadow over their joy.


    "Congrattions," I managed, my voice hoarse but steady enough to pass. "All of you."


    Evaline looked at me then. Just for a second.


    My heart screamed at the sight of her, but I tore my gaze away before I could drown in it. I couldn’t look at her, not when the memory of every smile, every touch, every unspoken moment we had shared now burned like acid in my chest.


    "I-uh," I cleared my throat, desperate to flee before the cracks in my facade showed. "I should... I should let you guys continue with your nning for shopping. I have got some work to catch up on anyway."


    I didn’t wait for their response. I didn’t trust myself to.


    I turned and walked out, my steps heavy, each one dragging me closer to the inevitable breaking point. I didn’t stop until I reached the sanctuary of my room. And the moment the door shut behind me, the mask crumbled.


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    I sank to the floor, clutching my chest as the sob tore out of me.


    Raw, unrelenting pain.


    My wolf howled, the sound reverberating through every corner of me, wing at the walls of my soul. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t ept it. She’s ours! She’s meant for us!


    But the truth was undeniable. She was theirs. She had chosen them. Fate had chosen them. And now... she carried one of their children.


    I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders shaking as wave after wave of grief crashed through me. I had never known heartbreak could feel this violent. As though every breath I took wasced with shards of ss. As though my entire being had been hollowed out in an instant.


    Memories assaulted me mercilessly - the way herugh always made the world brighter, the way her eyes had lingered on me sometimes longer than necessary, the way her presence had be the anchor I didn’t know I needed.


    I thought... I thought maybe those moments meant something.


    I thought maybe she felt it too.


    But I had been wrong. So terribly, pathetically wrong.


    The hours blurred as I stayed on that floor, lost in the storm of my own anguish. At some point, the tears slowed. My breathing evened out. The pain was still there - sharp, aching - but exhaustion dulled its edges just enough for me to think.


    And that was when rity came, cold and cruel.


    Evaline deserved happiness. My brothers deserved happiness. And if that happiness came from being together, from building a family with her, then who was I to stand in the way?


    My feelings... my love... it had no ce here. It never did.


    If I truly loved her, then I couldn’t let my selfishness destroy the life she was building.


    So... to keep myself from destroying their happiness, I made the only decision that seemed right... for all of us.