Hearing those words from Julian felt like watching a blade slide straight through Camilla’s chest.
I understood that kind of pain too well. When soone you once trusted turns cold, it doesn’t just hurt it empties you. It leaves nothing behind but a hollow ache that keeps echoing.
Whatever gas Camilla had played, her feelings for Julian hadn’t been entirely fake. You don’t spend years beside soone, sharing nights, secrets, routines, without sothing real taking root. Bonds like that don’t disappear just because soone decides to cut the thread.
And now she stood there alone.
Carrying his child. Rejected in front of everyone. Cast aside by the man whose scent she still carried.
The sha clung to her like smoke. Thick. Suffocating.
Lewis’s voice sliced through the room, calm and flat, like a verdict already decided.
"Since there’s no objection, this matter is settled."
Vivian finally broke.
She’d been holding herself together all this ti, but now her restraint cracked. Her jaw tightened, her eyes sharp with disbelief.
"Camilla barely knows Yenik," she said. "There’s no bond between them. And her condition " She stopped herself, fingers curling into her palm. "She isn’t well. I won’t support this."
She couldn’t say it. Not now.
Revealing the child at this mont would only turn Camilla into a bargaining piece. It would make her look desperate. It would stain the child before it even had a chance to breathe freely.
lissa stepped in, her tone softer, practiced. She knew how to smooth rough waters.
"Vivian, think of it as a temporary asure," she said gently. "You know how our circles work. If this isn’t handled, the whispers will never stop. A quiet marriage now can calm things down. Later, when the noise fades, they can part ways. Cleanly."
Vivian’s control snapped.
"Do you think mates are toys?" she shot back. "She ties herself now, breaks free later and then what? She’s marked forever. Branded as discarded. You call that protection?"
lissa shifted, uncomfortable, but the truth slipped out anyway.
"After last night... who else would even take her?"
The words hung in the air, ugly but honest.
Camilla hadn’t been herself. But no one would care about that. They would only rember the scene. The chaos. The damage.
Vivian’s eyes flared.
"What did you say?"
lissa fell silent. No one defended her, but no one denied it either.
Anthony finally spoke, his patience clearly gone.
"Enough," he said. "This is about order. About image. Both sides benefit from closing this properly. The Hudsons won’t mistreat Camilla. We’ll follow tradition. Gifts. Announcents. Everything done right. If you have terms, say them now."
Malcom’s posture shifted imdiately.
I saw it in the way his shoulders straightened, the way his eyes sharpened. For him, this was no longer about Camilla. It was about gain.
Her standing was already ruined. No strong pack would touch her now. But the Hudsons? They still carried weight.
He nodded quickly. "We’ll follow custom," he said. "A formal Marriage. Proper ceremony. Who knows feelings can grow with ti."
The forced optimism made my stomach twist, but no one challenged him.
Anthony leaned back slightly. "Then state your conditions. Let’s finalize this."
The elders moved aside, voices dropping as negotiations began.
Behind them, Lincy stood frozen.
She’d arrived clinging to Yenik, certain of her place. Now she’d been shoved out without a word.
Her fingers tightened around his arm, and she pulled him away, demanding answers in a sharp whisper as they left the room.
I turned to Grant, curious.
He usually hovered around Lincy, always indulgent. But this ti, his attention wasn’t on her.
It was on my mother.
That alone startled .
Mom looked different today.
She was always graceful, always composed. But now there was sothing softer about her. A quiet glow. Her eyes were brighter. Her presence lighter. Like soone who’d finally exhaled after holding her breath for years.
She looked younger. Stronger.
My mom had always believed in loyalty.
Once she bonded with soone, she stayed. No matter how empty it beca. No matter how much it hurt. Part of wished she wouldn’t hold on so tightly to sothing already broken. She deserved more than quiet disappointnt.
But that wasn’t my place.
Their bond, tangled and worn thin, wasn’t sothing I could fix for her.
My throat felt dry, so I walked toward the table and picked up a few pieces of fruit, trying to steady myself.
That was when I saw Camilla.
She was following Julian again, close enough to beg, far enough to be ignored.
Julian stopped. Turned to face her.
His expression was flat. His eyes cold. Whatever warmth he once gave her was gone, stripped away like a scent washed clean by rain.
He looked like soone she’d never known.
The shift was almost unreal.
Just two months ago, everything had been different.
Back then, Julian barely noticed . His focus was always on Camilla. Even with our bond ceremony approaching, he treated it like a burden. Sothing forced on him. I wasn’t soone he chose I was sothing he owed.
He thought I had cornered him. That tying himself to ant losing his freedom. He wanted one last taste of a life without rules before being bound.
That version of him no longer existed.
I had died once.
His illusion of Camilla had shattered.
And now he stood here, distant and unmoved, ready to bind himself to soone else entirely.
Life had a cruel sense of balance.
The coldness he once used to push away was now cutting into her.
Camilla’s voice trembled. "Julian... are you really going to bind yourself to that woman?"
"Yes."
One word. No hesitation.
He didn’t even look at her when he continued. "Even if it wasn’t Sera, it would’ve been soone else. You were never the one, Camilla. Stop chasing sothing that was never real."
Her face collapsed. "Then what about the child?"
Julian’s tone sharpened. "You’ll bind yourself to Yenik. I’m moving forward with Sera. If you keep the child, that’s your choice. If you don’t, I won’t stop you. But don’t expect anything from ."
Her voice cracked. "When did you beco like thisJulian?"
"Don’t say my na," he snapped. "It makes sick. Focus on your life with Yenik. That’s all you have now."
Then he turned away.
As he passed , he didn’t look down or away. He stared straight at , bitterness burning in his eyes.
"Is this what you wanted?"
Everyone knew I had played a part in how things unfolded.
I didn’t deny it.
I smiled, just a little. "Yes."
He looked at like I was a stranger. "You’re heartless. You’re nothing like her."
Then he walked off.
What he didn’t understand was simple.
She was .
I am Elena.
But the woman who loved him had died with her shattered heart. What remained was soone else. Soone who wanted balance. Soone who wanted things set right.
When Julian disappeared from sight, Camilla turned on .
She wiped her tears, but her eyes were sharp now. Bitter.
"You," she hissed. "I never hurt you. Why are you doing this to ? Why are you so cruel?"
I laughed. Short. Cold.
"Cruel?"
I t her gaze without blinking.
"Did I force you to trick Yenik into seducing ? Did I make you spike my drink? Did I push you into betraying ?" I shook my head. "No, Camilla. You chose all of that yourself."
She opened her mouth, but I didn’t stop.
"This is the outco of your choices. You took a risk. You lost. That’s not on ."
Her glare darkened. "Don’t think you’ve won, Riley. Standing beside Sera won’t protect you forever. That woman isn’t as gentle as she pretends to be. One day, she’ll turn on you too."
I crossed my arms, unimpressed.
"And who should I stand with instead?" I asked calmly. "You? The one who tried to destroy and drive out of this place?"
I leaned closer, lowering my voice.
"Here’s so advice, Camilla. Don’t cry about losing when you’re the one who dealt the cards. You played dirty and now you’re paying for it."
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