His voice dropped, filled with pain. “It was you. One of you told her.”
I shook my head, my heart pounding. “We didn’t tell her,” I said firmly. “None of us did.”
I turned to my brothers. “Louis… Levi… did any of you?”
“No,” Louis said immediately, his jaw clenched. “Never.”
“Not me,” Levi added, looking hurt. “Why would we betray him like that?”
I looked back at Damien, my voice rising. “You hear that? None of us said a word. We didn’t tell Sofia anything!”
But Damien’s face remained stone cold. He scoffed bitterly. “Of course you’d deny it. That’s exactly why I never confronted you back then. I knew what you’d say.”
“Because we’re innocent!” I snapped.
“No,” he growled. “Because you’re guilty-and I know it. I saw the way she looked at you three. I saw the way you hovered around her like lovesick puppies. Don’t stand there and pretend you didn’t want her for yourselves.”
“That’s insane,” Louis muttered.
“You wanted her,” Damien went on, ignoring him. “You took the one woman I loved- the woman I was going to marry-and now I’ve returned the favor.”
I froze.
“What?” I breathed. eyes
His burned into mine. “You made me lose my mate… the only woman I’ve ever loved. So now, I’ve made sure you lose yours.”
It hit me like a punch to the gut.
“Olivia,” Levi whispered, eyes wide with horror.
Damien’s lips curled into a cruel smirk. “An eye for an eye, boys. You took my heart and crushed it. So, I’ve returned the favor. You’ll never get her back.”
A sick silence filled the room. My stomach twisted.
All this… all of it was his revenge plan.
He truly believed we told Sofia about his secret. But we didn’t-and I’d stake my life on it-none of my brothers would ever do something like that. And Sofia? Why would he ever think we liked her that way?
Yes, we were close to her… but only because she reminded us of Olivia. Her voice, her laugh, the way she walked-even her stubbornness. It was like watching a grown version of her. That was the only reason we stayed close. Not because of desire… never that.
Father stepped forward, anger and disbelief written all over his face. “Damien,” he said quietly, but firmly. “I can swear on my life… my sons didn’t tell Sofia anything. I know them. They wouldn’t betray you.”
But Damien’s face twisted into a deeper rage.
“Keep quiet!” he shouted, voice shaking with rage. “You’re just as much a liar as they are!”
Father froze. “What?”
Damien’s lip curled. “You want to swear on your life?” he spat. “When are you going to tell Olivia the truth? When will you finally stand before your pack and admit that her father wasn’t guilty of the theft he was accused of… and that he isn’t dead?!” 2
The room went still.
Everything stopped. Even time.
My heart stuttered in my chest, and I saw the shock flash across my brothers’ faces as we all turned to stare at our father.
He went pale.
“What… what did you just say?” I asked, barely able to get the words out.
Damien laughed-a low, cold, bitter sound that sent chills through my spine. “Yeah. That’s right. Maybe before throwing around your righteous little speeches, brother, you should look in the mirror. You’re hiding something too. Lying to everyone.”
Father’s hands curled into fists at his sides. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t even deny his brother’s claim.
“Father, what is he talking about?” Levi, who had managed to leave the bed, asked.
Father frowned deeply, glaring at his brother before turning to us.
“YES. Olivia’s father was innocent. And he is alive and healthy. That’s all you need to know… for now.” With that, he turned sharply and left the room with mother.
??/p>
I exchanged shocked glances with my brothers, struggling to process what had just happened.
Our father had just walked out after dropping a bomb that shattered everything we thought we knew.
Olivia’s father… alive? Innocent?
I clenched my fists, my breathing uneven.
The same man she cried over… mourned… nearly killed herself for?
He was alive this whole time?
“Unbelievable,” Louis muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. “What the hell is going on?”
Levi looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. “Does Olivia know?” he whispered.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
Because my thoughts were spinning too fast… too loud.
Behind us, Damien let out a long, slow breath-almost like he was satisfied.
He dusted his hands as he took a few steps back. “Well… I guess my work here is done.”
We all turned to him slowly.
He smiled, that same cruel smirk still dancing on his lips. “I’ve waited three years for this moment. Watching your lives fall apart the same way mine did… it’s been satisfying, boys.”
“You’re sick,” Louis spat.
Damien laughed lightly. “Call it whatever you want. But now you know what it feels like to lose someone you love because of betrayal… or at least the idea of it. Just like I did.”
I took a step forward, my voice cold. “You really think this is over?”
“Oh, it is,” Damien said, casually adjusting his coat. “I came. I exposed. I broke you. And now, I’m going back home.”
He started toward the door, then paused, glancing over his shoulder one last time. “Oh, and by the way…” He smirked, eyes glinting with mockery. “Good luck winning you did…” Olivia back. If you even think she’ll forgive you after everything… after what He chuckled. “You’re more delusional than I thought.”
My chest tightened.
“She will vanish from your lives,” Damien added. “Just like Sofia did.”
And with that, he walked out.
A suffocating silence hung in the air.
No one moved. No one spoke.
I could feel my brothers’ stares. I could feel my own breath shaking in and out, trying to keep it together.
But then after a few minutes, the silence was broken by soft footsteps outside the door, then the door eased open…
And this time… it wasn’t Damien.
It was Olivia.
She stood there in the doorway, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her eyes were hard. But there was no mo sadness in her gaze now just something cold.
Emotionless.
My heart stopped.
“Olivia,” I whispered, taking a step forward.
She lifted a hand, stopping me in my tracks.
“I’m not here to talk,” she said quietly. Her voice was calm, too calm. “I’m only here to say one thing.”
We waited, every muscle in my body tense.
She met each of our eyes-me, then Louis, then Levi. Her lips trembled for half a second… but she pressed them together and went on.
“I’m leaving,” she said.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.