GoodNovelChapter 262
Chapter 262
-Grayson’s POV
| hated you because you saw it happen again and again, and you stayed. You let it happen.”
The words hung in the air, heavier than | expected. | let out a slow breath, watching the way the wind stirred the
leaves around the headstone.
It had never occurred to me-not once—to let myself think of her in any other way than how much I loved her.
How much of a good mother she was. How much | regretted being responsible for her death.
“You could have left him,” I murmured. “We could have left.”
My gaze drifted to the other grave. His grave and that was when the realization settled in. Cold. Unforgiving.
“But you couldn't, could you?” My voice was quiet, but there was no hesitation in it. | tilted my head slightly, as if
seeing something that had always been right in front ofbut never truly understanding it until now, “Because
you were fated to him. Because you loved him. Because it didn’t matter what he did, you forgave him.”
| swallowed hard, my fingers twitching slightly against my thigh. | had spoken the words without thinking, but
now that they were out in the open, they felt impossible to take back.
My jaw tightened. My gaze flickered back to her name.
“It didn’t matter how many times he hurt you,” | continued. “How many times you cried because of him. How
many times you swore he would change. You stayed.”
And then, before | could stop myself, | said it, “Just like Ava always forgives me. And she stays.”
The realization hit harder than | expected. It twisted in my chest, sharp and unrelenting. My body tensed, every
muscle coiling like a wire pulled too tight.
| turned back toward his grave, my expression blank, unreadable.
“I really did turn out to be just like you, didn’t 1?”
The words didn’t feel like a question. They felt like a sentence.
A quiet laugh left my lips-humorless, almost bitter. | shook my head slightly, the weight of it all settling on my
shoulders, “And | bet if you could seenow, you would finally look atwith pride,” | muttered, my gaze
shifting back to his grave.
Then, turning to hers, my voice softened, but my words were just as certain.
“And you... you would look atthe way you always looked at him. With sadness. With hopelessness.” | exhaled
slowly, shaking my head, “But you would loveanyway. Just like Ava lovesin spite of all the bullshit | put
her through.”
| didn’t even know what | was saying anymore, but the words kept coming, unraveling something insidethat
had been wound too tight for too long.
“I didn’t think any of this would happen when she crashed into my life when | least expected it. And | let her stay
because | thought | could control it. | thought | could control her,” | admitted. “I offered her a contract. A deal.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBecause that’s all | knew. | didn’t believe in love. | didn’t believe in... people.”
I let out a slow breath, my fingers curling into fists.
“I didn’t think it was possible forto feel anymore,” | continued, my voice steady, certain, “I thought that part
ofwas dead, burned away with everything else. But somehow... somehow she pulledback. She made me
human again. She
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madewant to be more than what | am.”
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My throat tightened as | looked down at my mother’s grave, “You would have loved her,” | murmured. “I know
you would have.”
Silence stretched between us, betweenand the stone that bore her name. Betweenand the memories |
had tried so hard to bury.
| exhaled, the weight of everything pressing down on me, threatening to suffocate me, “I don’t want to carry this
anger anymore,” | admitted. “I don’t want to be this person anymore. Not for me. Not for her. Not for my
children.”
| swallowed hard, my chest tightening as the words left my mouth, “Because | don’t want them to grow up and
have to kneel at our graves and say these swords.”
My voice cracked, and before I could stop it, before | could even register it, | felt the first tear slip down my face.
The first in sixteen years.
| blinked, surprised by the feeling. By the warmth of it against my skin.
My hands clenched into fists, my jaw tightening, “I'm sorry,” | breathed. “I never meant for that fire to kill you. |
never meant to becthis person. Someone you wouldn’t even recognize. Someone you wouldn't have wanted
For a long moment, | just stood there, letting the wind carry my words. Letting the weight of everything settle.
Then, slowly, | turned back to his grave and | forced myself to say what | had never wanted to admit, “As much
as | hate it,” | muttered, my jaw clenching, “you were right.”
The words tasted bitter on my tongue, but I didn’t stop.
“Being feared. Showing no weakness. It madea powerful king” | let out a slow breath, tilting my head
slightly, “And now, if | want to put an end to this once and for all... that's still exactly who | need to be.”
My fingers twitched at my sides, my nails digging into my palms.
“But | don’t know how to stop that person from consuming me.”
| exhaled sharply, shaking my head, “I don’t know who | want to be,” | admitted. “I don’t know how to be a better
person and lead a realm and | am so confused. | am so stuck. | want to feel the lightness | felt when | was a child.
| don’t want to feel the heaviness that | carry each and every day.”
The wind howled around me, but it didn’t carry an answer. There was no voice from the grave, no whispered
reassurance. Just silence.
| let out a slow breath, my chest rising and falling with the weight of everything I had just admitted. Everything |
had been too afraid to face for so long.
“Maybe that’s all | can do,” | murmured, my voice steadier now, though the ache in my chest hadn't lessened,
“Wake up every day and try. Try to be someone better. Try to find myself in all of this.”
“And maybe one day,” | continued, “I'll cback here and tell you both that I finally figured it out. That I finally
found a way to move on.”
The words felt like a promise. One | wasn’t sure | could keep, but one | would try to, anyway.
| didn’t know if that day would ever come. Maybe | would always be searching, always be fighting against the
parts ofthat felt too much like him. Maybe | would never truly outrun his shadow.
But for the first time, | thought maybe-just maybe-it wasn’t impossible.
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Chapter 262
The wind shifted, curling aroundlike unseen hands, and for a brief second, | almost imagined that she was
here. That she could hear me. That if | closed my eyes, | would feel her fingers running through my hair the way
she used to when | was a boy.
| swallowed hard, blinking against the sudden sting behind my eyes.
Then, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
The sharp vibration shattered the stillness, groundingback into the present.
| exhaled, shaking my head slightly before pulling it out, my brows furrowing as | saw Rickon’s nflash across
the screen.
A text.
| opened it, scanning the words.
Rickon: | am glad you refuse to stay dead and | know you hate this sentimental bullshit, but you're invited to my
wedding. Try not to look too disgusted when you RSVP.
| huffed out a breath, a flicker of amusement breaking through the exhaustion weighingdown.
Before | could even process it, another message followed.
Rickon: Also, if you aren't busy being a scary King, would you dothe honor of being my best man?
| stared at the words, unblinking.
Something in my chest twisted, sharp and unfamiliar. A tether pullingback, remindingthat no matter
how lost | felt, | wasn’t alone.
I didn’t think.
| just typed a single reply.
Yes.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm| hesitated for a second before slipping the phone back into my pocket, my fingers tightening around the fabric.
My gaze lifted once more, settling on the headstones in front of me.
One last look. One last moment in the quiet.
me. As if carrying my
The wind stirred again, whispering through the trees, as if answering words away to the people who once stood
in front of me, to the people who had shapedinto who | was-for better or worse.
| let out a quiet sigh, pushing myself to my feet.
| didn’t have the answers but | would figure it out.
Like I always did.
And while | was doing that, | would make sure of one thing. Damien Cross’s reign over our lives would end-before
my children were born.
At least, that was the plan.
But fate had a way of making its own decisions.
Because just as the music swelled in the grand hall, just as the priest was about to announce Rickon and Isabella
as husband and wife, Damien’s head fell in the middle of the hall and for a moment, all | could do was stare with
one thought ringing in
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Chapter 262
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Who the hell killed hime
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