chapter seventy five

Isabella POV

The door slammed shut like a final verdict, and the echo it left behind clawed down my spine.

Thalia was gone.

Good.

But also… not good.

I stood there, staring at the empty doorway, my jaw tight, my hands clenched into fists so tight my manicured nails bit into my palms. She always knew how to strike with words that bruised deeper than fists.

Asher still hadn’t moved. Enzo was frozen, eyes still on the spot where she’d stood.

“She’ll be back,” I said coolly, smoothing my blouse like I hadn’t just been ready to rip a woman’s throat out five minutes ago. “They always come back when they realize no one out there gives a damn.”

Enzo didn’t respond. He just looked… wrecked.

“She needed to leave,” I added, quieter now. “Before she took the whole house down with her.”

Still nothing.

I rolled my eyes, stepping around the room toward the window, watching as Thalia disappeared down the long winding path toward the woods, her silhouette a storm wrapped in leather.

Then