Swallowed My Pride Novels & Stories

I chuckled. He pointed at me and shook his head, "I can't wait for you to eat your words. After eating my beef stew, trust me when I say that you wouldn't want any chef to cook for you anymore." "Hmm." I muttered in disbelief. He was surely going to try to prove that he was able but I wasn't going to stop him either way. "You know what to say about pride? It goes before a terrible fall. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for your sake that you actually pull off a mean stew that would wipe my mockery off." I reminded him.

I snapped, my tone biting and unnecessarily cruel. Catching a glimpse of his face as I turned away, I registered the visible sting of my harsh words on his features. His shoulders slumped, pulling the hood further over his head like he wanted to disappear. A sharp, painful tightness gripped my chest, punishing me for causing him pain, but stubborn pride kept my jaw locked. Giving in meant admitting the wolf was right, and accepting that reality would destroy everything.

The words claw their way out of me, unguarded, before I can stop them. My pride screams at me to shut up, to turn around, and walk out of this office. But I can’t. Not this time. I swallow hard, the tension in my chest suffocating. “Whatever it is, just say it,” I force out, my voice faltering, betraying the last shred of my dignity. Damn it. It’s out.

I wanted to apologize to him, but somehow my pride didn't let me utter those words. I slowly walked away from him and sat on one of the twin swings, thinking about my words. I'd never been one to speak without thinking. I was always calm and collected. But being with Adrian made me lose my control, which irritated me. I'd worked so hard to gain control over myself and appear collected. I didn't want one person to destroy everything just by being present around me.

“Elena…” Matteo smiled weakly. “You were always the brave one.” Tears burned down her cheeks. “Don’t ask me to do this.” His voice softened. “It’s not a request. It’s a release.” The alarms grew louder. The holographic lion above them began to flicker again, the golden eyes pulsing faster. Lucia shouted, “The system’s rebooting! You’ve got seconds before it reinitializes!” Matteo looked at her one last time. “Pride isn’t about never falling. It’s about rising after the fall. Make me proud, sorellina.”

But there was also a glimmer of resilience, a fire that refused to be extinguished. I took a deep breath, summoning the strength within me. This was just a stepping stone, a temporary chapter in my life. I would work hard, prove my worth, and strive for something more. Swallowing my pride, I embraced the opportunity before me, ready to face the challenges that lay ahead.

It didn’t, nothing ever does. I stepped out and dried my body off, threw clothes on without thinking, each movement was mechanical. Pull the shirt, tug the pants. Nothing felt right. My chest was still tight, my head still heavy. Pride is a bastard—it keeps me from saying sorry, from walking back to her and fixing it. Instead it leaves me stuck in a stupid silence, that's killing me more than her.

"Every drop! Drink it down, you little gold-digger!" I tried to swallow, but it kept coming. I choked, the pressure too much, and I felt some of it leaking out of the corners of my mouth and dripping down my chin onto my chest. It was salty and hot. I had to keep gulping just to keep from drowning in it. I felt so disgusting, so used. I had traded my pride for a mouthful of salt and heat.

His name alone was enough to curdle my blood and kill whatever faint appetite I had left. Or maybe... maybe I was lying to myself. Maybe I wasn’t as disgusted as I wanted to be. Maybe deep down, I craved it—craving the taste of something warm, something that might hush the raging storm churning inside me. But pride... pride is a cruel, relentless master. It wrapped its hands around my throat, squeezing, keeping me chained, refusing to let me give in so easily.

Honey’s POV. Swallowing one’s pride is never easy to do, but I have to, and I have to admit defeat. Defeat that I thought I was strong enough to fight this fucker alone. I don’t even know what happened that day. I was feeling good one minute and the next, all my energy just left the damn building. I couldn’t open my eyes or move. Everything felt heavy, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Being pulled under and trying desperately to claw my way back, I just couldn’t and I fell into the darkness.