Isabella pov The tears weren’t fresh anymore. They’d dried along my cheeks, leaving a sticky, bitter trail of regret and exhaustion. I didn’t bother to wipe them off. What was the point? They’d return the moment I blinked again, a never-ending loop of sorrow I hadn’t asked for. This second chance? A joke. A cruel prank from the Moon Goddess herself. She handed me a new life but kept my nightmare tethered to it—his shadow, his voice, his sins—Enzo. The name alone felt like a wound that never healed, a permanent scar etched into the lining of my soul. And now, as if my grief hadn’t marinated long enough, the universe decided I needed another visitor from hell. Knock knock. I didn’t answer. Whoever it was could find their own corner of misery. This one was mine. The door creaked open anyway. No shame. No respect. No sense. Of course, it was her. Thalia. Dressed like she had somewhere to go—heels clicking against my wooden floors like she owned the place, lips stained blood-red
“You already have,” he said, voice low, steady, like a damn dagger wrapped in velvet.Something inside me cracked. I wanted to pretend I didn’t hear him. Wanted to laugh it off, roll my eyes, tell him to shove his tragic poetry where the sun didn’t shine.But I couldn’t.Because I felt it.Every word.“You don’t get to say that,” I snapped, voice hoarse. “You don’t get to make this about you.”He tilted his head slightly, arms still crossed, but his jaw clenched. “It’s not about me. But it is about you. And I’m not walking away, Isabella. Not now.”“Why?” I challenged, wiping the back of my hand across my wet forehead. “Because you feel sorry for me? Because I’m a shiny new disaster you think you can fix?”His eyes darkened, brows twitching with something like restrained fury. “Don’t do that.”“Do what?” I stepped closer, toe to toe, voice rising. “Tell the truth?”“You think that’s the truth?” he asked, quietly now. “You think I look at you and see something broken? No, Isabella. I s
Isabella povI slammed the door behind me so hard the walls shuddered. A picture frame fell from the nightstand, the glass cracking like my sanity.Good. Let it all break.I was breaking anyway.I ripped off my jacket, flinging it across the room like it had personally offended me. My boots followed. Then my belt. Then the stupid necklace I’d been clinging to like it could somehow anchor me when everything inside me was just—wreckage.My hands trembled. My chest felt like it had a knife lodged in the center, twisted to the hilt.Why did I say that? Why did I show that?I didn’t even look in the mirror. Couldn’t. I already knew what I’d see—a storm in human form. Wet lashes. Red-rimmed eyes. Mascara dragging tracks down my cheeks like war paint. A mess. A liar. A girl who couldn’t stop bleeding for a man who once set her world on fire and then walked away while it burned.My knees hit the tiled bathroom floor with a hard thud. I didn’t even flinch.I crawled to the bathtub, yanked the
Asher pov I saw everything. Every. Damn. Second. I wasn’t supposed to. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But when your packhouse turns into a battlefield and the warriors outside whisper about a commotion in the east wing, you don’t just sit back with tea and biscuits. You check it out. And what did I find? Isabella and Enzo. A storm with no off switch. Fury, heartbreak, and a whole lot of tension that made my skin crawl. I didn’t go in. Couldn’t. Wouldn’t. I watched from the corner of the hallway, half-hidden in shadow like some pathetic ghost. I heard the raised voices. The crash. The slap. The sharp edges of their past cutting into the present like a jagged blade. I saw Thalia step in like she owned the world, playing queen in a game she barely understood. I saw the pain on Isabella’s face. The way she shoved him. The way she didn’t cry. And Goddess help me… I felt it all. By the time she walked out, spine stiff, rage woven into every inch of her, I was already turning away
Isabella povDamnit.First, it was Thalia’s visit. Now Enzo’s? What the hell are these people up to? My blood simmered with suspicion, fury, and something I couldn’t name—something darker. I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms, the sting grounding me in the storm brewing in my chest.Enzo. Again.Why couldn’t he just vanish like the mistake he was?I stormed down the hallway, the walls of the packhouse closing in around me like a cage. Every step echoed, loud and angry, like war drums. I passed a few warriors, their eyes following me, but none of them dared speak. They knew better than to interrupt me when I was like this. I wasn’t the Isabella everyone knew—the cool, calculating strategist. No. I was fire and poison. I was vengeance wrapped in silk.Alpha Asher had the bright idea of putting Enzo in the east wing guest room. How thoughtful of him—like tossing a bone to a starving dog and expecting it not to bite.I slammed my fist against the door. Once. Twice. The third
Enzo pov I turned my back on my father's icy stare, the weight of his disapproval settling heavily on my shoulders. I knew I had to move quickly, before he tried to physically restrain me. Striding purposefully towards my room, I slammed the door shut behind me, the sound echoing through the hallway like a challenge. The lock clicked into place, a satisfying sound that told me I was safe from my father's interference – for now. With a sense of urgency, I began gathering my belongings, stuffing clothes and essentials into a duffel bag. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions, anger and frustration battling for dominance. How could my father not understand me? Didn't he know I was capable of making my own decisions? The thought only fueled my determination to see this through. As I packed, my phone buzzed on the bedside table. I snatched it up, my eyes scanning the screen. Thalia's name flashed across the display, a sly smile spreading across my face. Perfect timing. "What's up?" I ask