Evaline:


    The words lingered in the air long after I said them, followed by a heavy and thick silence that almost felt suffocating.


    I watched their faces carefully, taking in their confusion. They exchanged nces before all three fixing their questioning gazes on me.


    I took a slow breath and told them everything.


    From the very beginning.


    From the moment I first met Charles in that small town diner - the shy boy who barely met anyone''s eyes, who looked like the world had already taken too much from him.


    How I saw him again at the academy.


    How he always seemed to be at the wrong ce at the wrong time… getting cornered, bullied, hurt.


    How easy it had been to believe him, to trust him, and to protect him.


    My voice faltered at times, especially when I spoke about how close we had be… how I had defended him again and again, never once doubting him.


    Never once seeing the real him... the one behind that innc face.


    "I thought…" I whispered, my fingers tightening in the sheets beneath me. "I thought he was just… broken. Like I used to be."


    No one interrupted me. Not even once despite the fact they knew most of my past with Charles.


    So I kept going.


    I told them about the day I went to his house. The way I kept sensing a weird feelings around him but it was so subtle that I never linked it to him.


    I finished with everything Charles... or Damian... confessed to me in that cave.


    How easily the mask had slipped once I was alone with him.


    How the softness in his eyes had turned into something cold… something cruel… something I knew too well.


    "He nned it," I said quietly, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. "Every single step. The way he approached me… the way he gained my trust… even the way he acted weak."


    A hollowugh escaped me.


    "It was all an act."


    Silence fell again once I finished. But this time, it was different. It wasn''t just heavy, but also stunned.


    I looked at them and saw the shock on their faces slowly turning into realization. It was sharper than anything I had expected.


    Oscar ran a hand through his hair, clenching his jaw so tight I almost got worried he might crack it.


    "That…" he exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "That actually makes much more sense."


    His voice was low, controlled. But I could still hear the anger beneath it.


    "The nning… the maniption… the way he got close to you…" He looked at me again, his eyes darkening. "There''s no way that was Charles. Not someone like him."


    I didn''t respond. Because he was right. And we all knew it.


    Kieran didn''t speak a single word, but I didn''t need him to. His silence spoke louder than anything else.


    His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had turnedpletely white.


    My chest tightened at the sight.


    "Kieran…" I murmured softly as I reached out without thinking, wrapping my fingers gently around his hands.


    They were cold and rigid, like stone.


    He stilled the moment I touched him, but then slowly, his fingers loosened under mine. His gaze lifted to meet mine, and just like that, the storm in his eyes softened.


    Though it didn''tpletely vanish, but it became much quieter.


    He turned his hand slightly,cing his fingers with mine, holding on like he needed that contact just as much as I did.


    River, on the other hand looked worse. Much worse.


    I had seen him angry before. Furious. Dangerous. But this.., this was different. This wasn''t just anger, but also guilt. And it sat heavy in his eyes, in the tight line of his jaw, in the way his shoulders were drawn stiff like he was holding himself back from breaking something.


    Or someone.


    "I should have killed him," he said suddenly. His voice was quiet, but it cut through the room like a de. "I should have hunted him down myself when he escaped."


    My breath caught as he looked at me then, his eyes burning with something that made my chest ache.


    "I left it to our warriors," he continued, his voice tightening. "I thought they would find him. I thought it was enough."


    His hand clenched into a fist.


    "But it clearly wasn''t."


    "River-"


    "If I hadn''t been careless," he cut in, his tone sharper this time. "He wouldn''t have gotten near you again. He wouldn''t have had the chance to-"


    His voice broke off. But he didn''t need to finish. We all knew what he wanted to say.


    My chest tightened painfully.


    "No," I said firmly, and all three of them turned to look at me.


    "This isn''t your fault," I added, my voice softer now but just as certain. "None of this is."


    But even as I said it, I knew they didn''t believe it. Not really. And before I could try again, something else caught my attention.


    Oscar.


    He had gone quiet again. Too quiet. His gaze wasn''t on my face anymore. Instead, it had dropped... to my hands.


    To my wrists specifically.


    My breath stilled as I followed his line of sight.


    And there they were - the marks left behind by the silver chains. They had recovered a lot, no longer as severe as they had been two days ago, but still there.


    Still visible.


    Still a reminder.


    Even two days of healing and rest couldn''tpletely heal them, probably  because they had been the worst, the deepest, and the most cruel.


    I felt something twist inside me at the look on Oscar''s face. It was pain, helplessness, and guilt.


    My fingers curled slightly. And without thinking, I reached inward to that familiar ce... my power.


    It answered immediately, but unlike how it kept flickering off during my captivity because of the drug, it responded strongly this time.


    My breath caught as the familiar warmth filled me from within as my power surged through me, flowing beneath my skin like liquid light. It wrapped around the marks on my wrists, sinking deep into the ces that still ached.


    The healing was immediate, fast, and effortless.


    I watched as the marks on my wrists faded within seconds, leaving behind smooth and pale skin.


    There was no sign left of what had once been there, like it had never happened.


    I lifted my hands slightly and Oscar''s eyes followed the movement. "It''s gone," I said softly.


    I reached out and cupped his face gently. "See?" I whispered. "I''mpletely healed now."


    For a moment, he just stared at me - at my wrists, at my face - and then, his expression broke.


    "Just because the marks are gone…" he said hoarsely, his voice thick with emotion, "doesn''t mean they were never there."


    My chest tightened.


    I opened my mouth but no words came out. Because he was right. And there was nothing I could say to fix that. Nothing I could do to take it away.


    Silence settled again. It was heavy, and unmoving.


    I looked at all three of them - at the guilt in their eyes, at the quiet pain they kept trying to hide just to make me not worry, and at the raw, aching helplessness.


    There was a lot I wanted to say, a lot I could have said, but I could tell no amount of words were enough to take away their guilt.


    They wouldn''t believe me if I told them I was okay. They wouldn''t let go of that guilt just because I asked them to.


    So…


    I did the only thing I could think of. Something simple. Something normal. Something that could distract them from self ming.


    I pulled my hands back and crossed my arms. And then I looked at them one by one, narrowing my eyes.


    "I don''t know about you three," I said, my voice suddenly firm, almost using, "but I am in desperate need of a bath."


    All three of them blinked, caughtpletely off guard by the sudden change in topic.


    "And food," I added, raising a brow. "I haven''t eaten a meal in days."


    I didn''t stop at that. "And I''m dying to see my son. Where is he?"


    For a second, they just stared at me. They looked so confused as if their brains had refused to process my words.


    And after a few long seconds, something g finally shifted in them and the heavy tension cracked.


    Oscar huffed out a quiet, disbelieving breath. Kieran''s lips twitched. And River actually let out the faintest exhale that almost sounded like augh.


    Good.


    My n worked.


    I smiled at them, and they returned the smile. We all had our demons chasing after us, but right now, I had no energy to fight them.


    What I needed most now was my family.


    "It''s almost dinner time. So how about we get you into a bath first and then you can meet Lio at dinner table?" Oscar offered.


    I immediately nodded, liking the n. "Sounds perfect."