Even though I was prepared, my heart still froze the moment I saw him.
Sebastian stood in our living room, gently tracing the photo of Mason and me.
My body reacted before I could think. Every instinct screamed to run.
But Mason stepped in front of me, calm and unshakable.
Why the hell was Sebastian in our home?
He turned slowly, eyes locking onto mine.
Rage. Longing. Regret.
“Aurora,” he said, smiling faintly. “Why didn’t you run this time?”
His voice was ice. But his restraint was visible. He didn’t want to scare me off again.
“I knew you weren’t dead. I turned Brimhill upside down looking for you, and you were hiding all the way out here.
Come back with me. I won’t hold the past against you. Vivienne’s gone. She’ll never hurt you again.”
“You want the Blackwell name? The city at your feet? Whatever you want, I’ll give it.”
He grabbed my hand, eyes bloodshot as he inhaled my scent.
I yanked my hand away, fury exploding in my chest.
”
“Sebastian, you psychopath! Why can’t you just leave me alone and go back to your precious Vivienne.”
“There’s nothing left between us. You keep pushing, I swear I’ll die again just to be free of you!”
His smile twisted into something terrifying.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you? It’s okay. From now on, there’s only you. No other woman exists.”
“I didn’t realize it until you left. I love you, Aurora. Punish me, hate me–I don’t care. Just don’t leave.”
He lowered his head, voice raw. “I lived in that attic. The scent of you was everywhere, I thought it was torture. But it was home.”
Before he could say more, Mason punched him hard enough to knock him sideways.
Sebastian’s guards swarmed in, surrounding Mason.
He fought like hell, but he was outnumbered. Blood streamed from his mouth as he silently pleaded with me to run.
I threw myself over him.
“Touch him again and I swear I’ll kill myself right here.”
The room went still.
When I opened my eyes, Sebastian stared at me like I was a stranger.
“You’re protecting him… You love him?”
“What about me?”
I laughed bitterly.
ཝཱ ཝཱཀཱན ནེསཝུན ཨེNS%Kམ་
w
“You think I could love the man who locked me in an attic for three years? Who beat me
me
wanted
“This past year was the first time I felt freedom and alive. If you care about me at all, let Chapter 7
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to
die?”
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He stepped back, shattered.
The infamous heir of Blackwell Enterprises, undone by a woman who once looked at him like a god.
Mason and I clung to each other, unbothered by the world.
And he was just the outsider now.
–
Chapter 7
