Chapter 40: A Shattered Illusion

Chapter 40: A Shattered Illusion

The silence between them was deafening, heavy with the weight of words unspoken and betrayals unearthed.

Seraphina felt as though the ground beneath her had given way, leaving her grasping at air. Her breath came shallow and uneven as she stared at Adrian, willing him to deny it—to give her any reason not to believe the words that had just been spoken.

But Adrian said nothing.

Not a denial. Not an explanation. Nothing.

Her chest constricted, each heartbeat pounding against her ribs. "Tell me he's lying."

Adrian's gaze remained steady, an unreadable storm brewing beneath the silver of his eyes. Yet his silence screamed the truth louder than words ever could.

Something inside her fractured, sharp and irreparable.

"You knew," she whispered, stepping back, as if distance could sever the invisible chains that now bound her to this awful revelation. "You knew all this time and never told me."

Adrian's jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists at his sides, but still, he did not rush to defend himself. "It's not what you think."

A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her. "Then what is it?" The sharpness in her voice could cut through steel. "Because it sounds an awful lot like I've been sleeping beside the man responsible for my father's ruin!"

A muscle ticked in Adrian's jaw. "Seraphina—"

"No!" The anguish in her voice startled even herself. "I trusted you!"

Adrian's expression darkened. "Did you?"

She stilled, her breath catching in her throat.

"Because from the moment we married, you have done nothing but push me away." His voice was quiet, but beneath it, a raw intensity burned. "Even now, you would rather believe the words of a man who has done nothing but manipulate you than hear the truth from me."

Seraphina clenched her fists. "How can I believe you when you won't even deny it?"

Adrian exhaled sharply and turned away for a moment, as if restraining himself. When he faced her again, his gaze was cold, measured. "Your father was not the man you think he was, Seraphina."

Her stomach clenched. "You expect me to believe that?"

Adrian's eyes darkened, his voice edged with something ominous. "Laurent tells you what suits his own narrative, but the truth is never so simple. Your father was not merely framed—he was a man playing a dangerous game, and he lost."

Seraphina shook her head, unwilling to accept it. "My father was loyal to the crown."

"Loyalty and treason," Adrian said, "are often separated by nothing more than perspective."

She recoiled as though struck, her mind spinning. The weight of his words was suffocating, pressing down on her with an unbearable force. "Then tell me," she whispered, her voice trembling, "what was your role in it?"

Adrian was silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice quiet but resolute. "I was the one who uncovered the evidence against him."

The world tilted.

Seraphina stumbled back, shaking her head, unable—unwilling—to process what she had just heard. "No."

Adrian took a step forward, his expression unreadable. "Seraphina—"

"Don't," she choked out, her throat tight with emotion. "Don't come near me."

Adrian halted, his hands twitching at his sides before he forced them still.

Laurent, who had been lingering in the shadows, finally spoke. "You see now, don't you?" His voice was calm, almost satisfied. "You married the man who sealed your father's fate."

Seraphina turned on him sharply, fury overtaking her grief. "And what do you gain from this?"

Laurent barely blinked. "The truth."

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Truth? Or your version of it?"

Laurent hesitated, and in that brief pause, she saw something that sent a chill down her spine. Doubt.

There was more to this story. More than he was saying. More than Adrian had admitted.

But right now, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear it.

Her gaze flicked back to Adrian, her heart aching as she searched his face. "I don't even know who you are anymore."

For the first time, something flickered in Adrian's eyes—something dangerously close to regret.

But regret was not enough.

Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Adrian didn't stop her.

And that, hurt most of all.