Chapter 261: Closure
Natalie~
I took a long, deep breath before stepping out of my room. My fingers lingered on the doorknob, hesitating, then I pulled it open and stepped into the quiet hallway of our home. The scent of fresh roses from the vases lining the corridor clung to the air, soft and calming—but it did nothing to ease the tight knot in my chest.
Each step I took echoed off the polished marble as I moved towards the grand staircase. I could feel Zane’s eyes watching me from down the hall, even though he hadn’t followed. He didn’t need to. His presence lived inside me now, like a second heartbeat.
But this wasn’t about him. Not right now.
This wasn’t just a conversation. This was about closure. A long-overdue closing of a Chapter that Griffin had shattered. For the mess that he had created—the one Shadow’s curse never let him to explain.
Each step I took up the stairs felt heavier than the last, like I was climbing through memories instead of air. The soft carpet beneath my boots muffled the sound, but it didn’t quiet the storm building inside me. Jasmine stirred, restless and tense, like a caged wolf pacing behind my ribs.
"I hate this,"she growled, her voice curling like smoke through my mind. "Every time you go near him, I feel it all over again. The betrayal. The rejection. If Jacob hadn’t begged we protect him—literally begged—I wouldn’t have let him within a mile of you, much less let you be the one guarding his sorry life."
Her anger pulsed hot under my skin, sharp and raw.
"He hurt us, Mara. He doesn’t deserve your words. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve your mercy."
I paused at the top of the landing, my hand brushing the banister like it might ground me. The hallway ahead stretched out in eerie quiet, but my heartbeat was loud enough for both of us.
"I know," I whispered back, my voice low, more thought than sound. "But this isn’t about what he deserves. It’s about what I need to say... and what I need to walk away from."