Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

Emilia’s POV

Mila’s voice dropped to a whisper. "And that’s when I found out the truth. Titus had been with Pearl. But Abigail wasn’t his child."

Sebastian’s eyes went wide.

"She’d been lying the whole time," Mila said, her voice shaking with rage now. "Scamming us. Over and over. I was so angry. I hired someone to teach her a lesson. Scare her. But I never meant for her to die. I swear, Sebastian. I never wanted that."

She buried her face in her hands. "They tampered with her car. It was supposed to be a warning. But it went wrong. Pearl and her husband died in the crash."

The room tilted around me. My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.

"I’ve lived with the guilt every day since," Mila sobbed. "I pray to the Moon Goddess every night for forgiveness. But it doesn’t change what I did."

Sebastian stood there, and I watched something in him break.

"You killed innocent people," he said, his voice hollow. "Both of you. You schemed. You manipulated. You destroyed lives. And for what? Because you hated someone? Because you couldn’t accept the situation?"

His voice rose. "Did you ever stop to think what your choices would do to everyone else? Because of you, I lost the woman I loved. Because of you, my life was nearly destroyed. Because of you, I’m drowning in the dark all over again."

He looked at them both, and I saw the pain in his eyes.

"The only thing I feel for you now is disappointment."

Sebastian turned toward the door, his voice cold and final. "I’m not coming back to this house. Ever."

The words landed like a blow.

I stood frozen as he walked toward the door. My mind screamed at me to move, to say something, to stop him. But my body wouldn’t cooperate.

"Because of both of you, I lost the woman I love."

The sentence echoed in my head, over and over.

His beloved woman. Abigail. After everything we’d been through, all the pain and the fights and the moments where I thought we’d finally broken through to each other, I still wasn’t enough.

I was his fated mate. The Moon Goddess herself had bound us together. And it still didn’t matter.

Tears burned the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back.

Behind me, Mila let out a broken sob, and the sound snapped me back.

Sebastian was already out the door.

I bolted after him, but by the time I reached the front steps, his car was already pulling away, rolling down the long drive toward the territory gates.

I stopped, my chest heaving, and watched the taillights shrink into the dark.

"Go after him," Eve said urgently in my head.

"He doesn’t want me," I thought back, my throat tight. "You heard him. I’m not the woman he loves."

"That’s not true and you know it."

"Then why did he say it?" My voice cracked, even in my own mind. "Why does it always come back to her?"

"Because he’s in pain," Eve said gently. "And you know better than anyone that people say things they don’t mean when they’re hurt."

I sank down onto the steps and wrapped my arms around my knees.

"If I hadn’t pushed him to see Abigail," I whispered. "If I hadn’t insisted he cut ties with her once and for all, none of this would’ve happened. The truth would’ve stayed buried."

"The truth always comes out, Emmy," Eve said softly. "Always. And this was Sebastian’s burden to carry whether you pushed him or not. You didn’t cause this. Don’t blame yourself."

The tears came then, hot and fast. I buried my face in my arms and let them fall.

"You need to go after him," Eve urged. "He needs you."

I wasn’t sure of us at all anymore. What we had felt like a sandcastle a child builds too close to the water, ready to wash away with the next wave.

"He doesn’t need me anymore."

"Don’t talk nonsense. He’s your mate. You’re bonded. He’ll always need you, even when he doesn’t realize it."

I lifted my head and stared down the empty drive. The taillights had stopped at the gates, held up while the guards opened them.

"Go," Eve said again, firmer now. "Run. Catch him. Don’t let him face this alone."

I pushed to my feet, wiped my face with the back of my hand, and ran.

My legs pounded against the pavement, my lungs burning as I sprinted down the drive. The cold night air bit at my skin, but I didn’t care. I ran faster.

The car was idling at the territory gates, brake lights glowing red while the guards hauled the heavy gates open.

"Faster," Eve pushed. "Don’t stop."

I didn’t. I ran until my chest felt ready to burst, until my vision blurred with tears and exhaustion, until the only sound left was my own heartbeat in my ears.

The gates swung wide. The car started to roll forward, then stopped.

I stumbled to a halt about fifty meters away, gasping. The passenger door opened, and Sebastian stepped out.

He stood in the glow of the headlights, his face in shadow, his shoulders tense. He didn’t move toward me. He just waited.

I stared at him, my chest heaving, tears still on my face.

Neither of us spoke.

Finally, I forced my legs to move. One step. Then another. Slowly, I closed the distance between us.

When I was close enough to see how worn down he looked, I stopped.

"If you’re never coming home again," I asked him, my voice thick with grief, "then what am I supposed to do in that house without you?"

And I remembered what Sebastian had told me once. "Wherever I am, that’s your home."

The tears spilled over then, and I couldn’t stop them.