<h4>Chapter 199: Breaking free II</h4>


    <strong>Charis</strong>


    My mother looked up at me, her face streaked with tears and mascara. "Please, Charis. Pleasee home. We can fix this. We can make it better."


    "You can’t fix him," I said quietly. "And you can’t fix what he’s done. It’s toote for that."


    "It’s never toote," she insisted. "He’s sick, Charis. He’s not himself—"


    "He’s exactly himself," I interrupted. "This is who he’s always been. You just pretended not to see it."


    "Charis, I’m your mother—"


    "Are you?" I asked, and I saw her freeze. "Are you really my mother, Eva? Or is that another lie?"


    Her face went white. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.


    "Charis, that’s enough." Rhett came to me and tried to reach for my hand, but I brushed him off. Everything was beyond redemption now.


    The pain I felt in my heart,bined with the fury, was seeking an outlet, which I was sure that if I kept it in one more night, I would explode from it.


    "Charis..." my mother trailed off.


    "What, Eva?" I retorted sarcastically. "Cat’s got your tongue? Why don’t you tell everyone if I am really your child?"


    My father struggled to his feet, using the wall for support. He was still wheezing and shaking. "What... what are you talking about?"


    "Ask your wife," I said, looking directly at Eva. "Ask her who I really am. Ask her where I came from. Ask her why she’s been lying to both of us for my entire life."


    Eva’s eyes went wide with panic. "Charis, don’t—"


    "Why not?" I challenged. "You want me toe home? You want me to be your daughter? Then tell the truth. Tell him the truth. Tell everyone."


    The room had gonepletely silent. Everyone was staring at Eva. I could see Kael giving me an exasperated look; he was even trying to send me a mindlink, but I blocked him off. I cannot bear to keep dancing in circles or following what anyone thinks is best for me. I am done.


    My mother looked trapped. Her eyes darted between my father, me and the others watching.


    "I... I can’t..." she whispered.


    "Then we have nothing more to talk about," I said.


    I turned and walked back toward the stairs. My throat hurt. My whole body was shaking with adrenaline. But I kept walking.


    "CHARIS!" My father’s scream echoed behind me. "CHARIS, YOU COME BACK HERE! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"


    But I didn’t turn around. I refused to stop.


    I climbed the stairs with ter on one side and Kael on the other. Rhett stayed below, I assumed to make sure my father didn’t try to follow.


    When I reached the top, I finally let myself look back.


    My father was still screaming, still threatening. My mother was still crying, still trying to calm him down. Luna ra was watching everything with satisfaction. And Alpha Terry was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.


    Then I saw something else.


    Standing in the doorway, partially hidden in shadow, was Elena.


    Rhett’s mother.


    She was watching everything. And on her face was a look of such intense interest, such calcting focus, that it sent chills down my spine.


    She caught my eye and smiled.


    It wasn’t a friendly smile.


    It was the smile of someone who’d just gained valuable information.


    And I realised, with growing horror, that everything that had just happened—my confrontation with my father, Eva’s reaction to my usation, all of it—had been witnessed by someone who was working with Isolde.


    We’d just given her ammunition.


    And I had no idea what she was going to do with it.


    ***


    The boys followed me to my bedroom in silence. ter closed the door quietly behind us. Kael went straight to the window and stared out at the dark sky. ter sat on the edge of my bed. We waited for Rhett.


    A few minutester, he knocked and entered, looking tired. "Your father finally left. My dad had a security escort him off the property. Eva went with him, but she’s still crying."


    I nodded, not trusting my voice.


    "Are you okay?" Rhett asked gently.


    I shook my head. I was covered in sweat from the confrontation. My shirt was sticking to my back. My throat still hurt where my father’s fingers had dug in. My whole body felt shaky and wrong.


    "I need a shower," I said quietly. "I’ll be right back."


    I grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom before anyone could respond.


    The hot water felt good against my skin. I scrubbed hard, trying to wash away the feeling of my father’s hands on my throat, the sound of his voice screaming at me, the look in my mother’s eyes. But no amount of soap could clean away what I was feeling inside.


    When I came out, wrapped in a towel with my wet hair dripping down my back, I nced at the clock—3:47 am. I had less than three hours before dawn. Less than three hours before, I had to be in court to prove to the world that I want to be Isolde’s daughter byw and maybe face the consequences of being caught as a girl in an all-boys academy.


    Isolde’swyer had prepared me for a situation like that, in case the opposing counsel tries to spring it on me.


    I got dressed quickly in the bathroom. I knew it would be difficult to avoid having the boys try to touch me, but I hoped the long and thick pyjamas I wore would send the message that I wasn’t in the mood even to be kissed.


    When I came out, I found that the boys were still waiting, all of them, maintaining their positions.


    That’s when Kael broke the silence.


    "You can’t keep doing this," he said tly.


    I looked at him. He was still standing by the window, his arms crossed. His face was unreadable.


    "Doing what?" I asked.


    "Letting your emotions dictate everything you do," he said. "You’re not being mature about any of this."


    I scoffed. "Excuse me?"


    "You heard me." Kael turned to face me fully. "You were not supposed to spring that on your mother. Didn’t we agree not to jump to conclusions until we’re sure it is not a trap set by Isolde? Now you’vepromised everything and managed to break your parents further apart."


    "It is always this trying to keep the peace that has gotten me to this shithole of a life that I am living. Always pretending that things would magically solve themselves when they fucking won’t."


    "Oh, please, Charis," Kael scoffed. "Don’t make excuses for your nasty behaviour. Even though Eva Greye isn’t your birth mother, she nursed you and gave you life. You let your father get to you and made you emotional. You gave him exactly what he wanted, a reaction."


    "And I wish I had died alongside, Caden," I fired back. "I wish it were me that those Rogue wolves had torn apart, maybe my life would have been easier."


    "Both of you, please," Rhett said tiredly. "Haven’t we had enough talk for one night?"


    But neither Kael nor I acknowledged him.


    "Stop being defensive for once in your life and listen to someone who has more experience. You do not get information or facts from acting like a baby," Kael fired back.


    "I am a baby," I yelled. "I just fucking turned eighteen. I am a fucking baby. Besides, he was trying to choke me. What was I supposed to do? Stay calm and polite?"


    "You were supposed to stay in control," Kael said coldly. "Instead, you let him see that he still has power over you. You showed weakness."


    Something hot and angry red in my chest. "Not everyone has an iron heart like you, Kael. Not everyone can turn off their feelings like flipping a switch."


    "Maybe you should learn how," he shot back. "Because your emotions are going to get you killed. Or get all of us killed."


    "That’s not fair—"


    "Fair?" Kaelughed, but there was no humour in it. "Nothing about this is fair. You’re walking around acting like a victim, making impulsive decisions, crying every time something goes wrong—"


    "I’m not—"


    "You are!" His voice rose for the first time. "You ran away from home instead of figuring out a better solution. You disguised yourself as a boy without thinking through the consequences. You’re epting mate bonds with three different people without really understanding what that means. You’re letting Isolde manipte you. You’re trusting people you shouldn’t trust. And now you’ve just given your father and everyone watching that whole performance a show about how broken and weak you are!"


    Each word felt like a knife. Tears started burning in my eyes, but I blinked them back furiously.


    "At least I feel things!" I shouted back. "At least I’m not some emotionless robot who pretends nothing matters! At least I’m honest about who I am!"


    "Honest?" Kael’s eyes shed. "You’re literally living under a fake identity again. Who on earth epts an offer from a total stranger who told you stories which are unverified to be their daughter when they still have an identity? You’ve lied to everyone about who you are since the day you got to the Academy. Don’t talk to me about honesty."


    "I had to lie! I had no choice!"


    "There’s always a choice. You just made bad ones."