Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rejected and Banished; The kids are his.: Kabanata 211 - Kabanata 220

Eva's POV.I barely slept through the night.The bed I laid on was soft, yet it felt like a prison made to trap me in; the walls of Aragorn’s house held a terrifying stillness that suffocated me no matter how many times I shifted on the sheets. I missed the warmth of Nicklaus’s presence, even in our coldest nights, even when silence was the only thing between us, there was something alive in the air that reminded me I was home. Here, there was nothing but emptiness and the echo of my own thoughts.I kept rolling from side to side, pulling the blanket up and tossing it off again. My chest felt heavy with secrets. I knew why I was here, I had made this choice. I had walked away from the man I love and the home I built with him to play this dangerous game, but knowing it didn’t make it easier, my eyes stung from the tears I had let out last night, yet sleep refused to claim me.At dawn, I must have finally drifted off, but only briefly, because the faintest sound startled me awake; a kno

Eva's POV.Back home, dinner meant warmth, with my husband, it was sometimes quiet whenever we weren't in such good moods, but it was nothing like the tension I faced every meal time that I had to come down to the dining here.Tonight, as I walked into the dining hall, I had to curl my hands at the sides with the weight of eyes that wanted to pierce into me and uncover every secret I was trying so desperately to guard.Aragorn and Lady Tory were already seated at the far end of the table, they looked like two halves of a coin that had never quite fit together; there was no conversation going on between the both of them, how sad.Aragorn lounged back, one arm resting carelessly on the chair, Lady Tory, on the other hand, sat upright and confidently, her dark hair perfectly pinned, her eyes suddenly lit up on guard when they landed on me.“Eva,” Aragorn’s voice boomed the moment he saw me, a smile tugging at his lips. “There you are. Come, sit.”He waved at the chair beside him, not acr

"Hey... Nicklaus, wait up to!" Nuela continued yelling as she ran after Nicklaus who wouldn't slow down to give her the time of the day. He wanted distance... distance from Nuela, from his house, from the unbearable silence of anything that still smelled of Eva.But fate had its own cruel sense of timing.As he rounded a bend from their corner, he suddenly heard voices, as low as it sounded, Nicklaus knew one of them instantly. That voice could never be mistaken, no matter how quiet or heavy it sounded.Eva.His body went rigid, his pulse spiking painfully. He slowed, eyes narrowing, as two figures emerged towards the corner.Aragorn walked beside her, his hand dangerously close to Eva’s as though he owned the right to walk beside her. Eva’s face was half-hidden in the shadows, but the sight of her standing there, beside him... was enough to rip something inside Nicklaus wide open.Before Nicklaus could process the storm rising in his chest, footsteps behind him drew closer. Nuela, w

Nicklaus slammed the doors behind him so hard that the entire frame rattled, dust shaking loose from the ceiling beams, his fists still trembling with the memory of clashing against Aragorn’s body... of seeing Eva standing there, not beside him, but beside his enemy.His boots struck the floor in anger, echoing steps. The housemaids peered from the corridor, frozen with fear. One dropped the stack of folded clothes she carried, the cloth scattering across the ground.Nicklaus’s head whipped toward her, his eyes dark and blazing. “What are you all staring at?!” His voice thundered through the house. “Go! Out! Now!”The servants glanced nervously at one another, no one daring to move. His fury was a storm, and storms devoured whatever they touched.Nicklaus’s jaw clenched tightly, and his hand shot out, seizing the edge of a carved wooden table in the hall. With one violent motion, he overturned it, the crash echoing like thunder, a vase shattered against the wall, shards spraying acros

Eva's POV.Just as I walked out of my room, and descended the stairs towards the living room, my ears suddenly pricked at the sound of hushed voices drifting from the living room, it didn't sound a bit less suspicious so I slowed, careful not to betray my presence too soon, but my pulse quickened as curiosity pulled me downward. With every step, the words became clearer.But when I reached the final bend and my eyes landed on the scene before me, I almost staggered back against the wall.Sitting stiffly on one of the high-backed chairs was a man I never expected to see here, my lips parted in disbelief.Elder Magnus.One of the high council elders. One of the men meant to safeguard the packs with wisdom and neutrality. My stomach clenched at the sight of him seated in Aragorn’s living room like a conspirator caught in the act.I sucked in a breath and steadied myself. My fingers brushed beneath my shirt, pressing against the small recorder hidden in the lining. With an easy flick, I s