Chapter 21
Finally facing her, Valdrin spoke his truth: “Yes, at first I saw her as a replacement. But she became. her own in my heart. When I looked at her, I saw only her, no other’s shadow.”
Cyrene’s voice turned raw, fighting to hide her pain: “And this means what now?”
These words he spoke where were they during those eight years of emptiness? When had he ever truly seen her?
“It means I live with regret,” his voice shook. “I regret not seeing my own heart sooner, regret every wound I gave her, regret actions I can never undo.”
“Ravenna, please forgive me. Let us begin anew. I’ll spend every day making amends. Let us forget the past.”
His trembling hands reached for hers, his eyes bright with unshed tears.
Cyrene felt his desperation, but her heart, scarred by his countless betrayals, could no longer bear the weight of this belated love..
She stepped back, moonlight catching the betrothal ring on her finger. “Sir, I’ve told you – I am Cyrene, not your mate. And I am promised to another.”
Valdrin stared at the ring in horror. “Impossible!”
“Why impossible?”
“Because you loved me,” he fought to control his voice. “Your heart was mine. This can’t be real- you’re trying to punish me. I understand my wrongs now. I’ll never hurt you again.”
“Please, just remove the ring.”
His pride crumbled to pleading.
Tears threatened to fall as Cyrene realized – he knew everything. Knew how deeply she had loved him, knew every wound he’d inflicted. He simply hadn’t cared until now.
When her love had burned brightest, he’d given only pain in return. What meaning could his words
hold now?
his Ravenna you speak of, who loved you so deeply – where is she now?”
–
Valdrin froze. Ravenna was dead by his own hand, on his own ritual stone. No one knew this truth better than he.
The weight of it crushed him, made him unworthy to even beg forgiveness. Yet he couldn’t let go she had loved him so completely, she should have been his forever.
“I destroyed her,” he whispered. “Now I live only for her forgiveness. Tell me, how can I earn it?”
His words held the sound of shattering.
The door opened as Theron entered, sensing the tension. “What’s wrong?”
Cyrene smiled softly at his arrival. Before Valdrin’s eyes, she embraced Theron. “This man mistook me for his mate. He asks if she could forgive him for destroying her.”
“What do you think, my love?”
Theron’s gaze held wisdom beyond his years. “A man who truly loves never willingly harms his mate. Once that sacred trust breaks, forgiveness becomes meaningless the wound remains, time cannot flow backward.”
of true i
“One who harms what he claims to love proves himself incapable of true love. He forfeits any right to it.”
