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Chapter 34 – “Damned Either Way”

Author: Mary George
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-25 04:14:57

I didn’t speak. Couldn’t. Just stood there, caught in the weight of what he’d said.

That he hadn’t expected to want me.

I stared at him like the floor had cracked beneath us again. Like I was waiting for the world to catch up to the shift I’d just felt.

Some part of me had wanted to hear those words.

And another part? It had been terrified of them.

Because the second something becomes real… it can break. And part of me had been afraid of it. Because once something is real, it can break.

He didn’t move. He just looked down, like he wished he could pull the words back. Like maybe it would be easier if I never knew.

But it was too late.

We couldn’t go back.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I didn’t even know what I was going to say. Not that it mattered. I didn’t get the chance.

There was a knock.

Firm. Sharp. Like it didn’t belong in this place.

Damian’s whole body tensed. Not like someone who’s startled, but like someone who expects the worst.

He stepped past me, out of the roo
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