Bonds

Chapter 136 -Maya's POV- The only thought I could hold onto was their laughter. I knew I'd hear it again soon. I had it saved on my phone, a recording I played over and over again. My wolf felt him first, scrambling to her feet the moment his scent hit the air. I could never quite describe it, that scent, something vaguely like chocolate, but whatever it was, it always pulledtowards him. Still, I didn't turn around, acknowledge his presence.

He sat down quietly, keeping a space between us. He dipped his feet in the cool water of the lake, staring out in silence. I didn't say anything either. There wasn't anything left to say, not right now. So we sat there, the silence thick and heavy.

Honestly, I don't even know why I spoke first. It was like my lips moved on their own. "I didn't know you had this place," I said, surprised by the sound of my own voice breaking the quiet.

A sigh escaped him. "I bought it after..." His voice trailed off, the sentence left unfinished.

"After you threwout," I filled in the blank for him.

He took a deep breath, but didn't answer. The silence stretched on again, broken only by the crickets chirping in the distance then he spoke again, “I wouldn't have thrown you out. I wouldn't have done what I did if I had known..." his voice faded again.

"If you had known I was carrying your children?" I finished for him again.

He nodded, a slow, heavy nod. "I would have..." "Would have what?" I cut him off, my voice suddenly sharp. “Would have just letstay? Never askedabout the pictures, never gotten angry? Pretended like everything was okay between us while the hate slowly festered? Or maybe you would have taken them away the moment they were born? Just one sentence, Alex. That's all it would have taken. One sentence to askif it was true, but you didn't." Another sigh. "I know, and I'm sorry." I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "Sorry doesn't change anything. Doesn't change what you did. And what about Adrian? Nothing excuses what Ivan's doing, it's not your fault you have a power hungry asshole for a father, who by the way, is also responsible for my brother's death. But Adrian? You deserve every bit of hate he throws at you. You destroyed his life because of a lie." "I know," he whispered, his voice flat with resignation. "I'm not a good person. The worst, probably. Everyone should hate me. You should hate me." "And that's what makesso mad!" My voice rose, sharper this time. "That I can't. That no matter what you do, no matter how much I try, I always seem to end up choosing you." We sat there for a long tafter that, the anger slowly draining out of me, leaving behind a hollow ache. The crickets continued their chirping, the only sound besides the occasional rustle of leaves in the cool night breeze. My reflection stared back atfrom the still water of the lake, my eyes red-rimmed and puffy from crying.

"I don't know how to fix this," He muttered, "I don't know what to do." I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them tight to my chest. “It's funny, isn't it?" My voice cout shaky, laced with a bitter humor. "Everything we've done since I cback, every choice we've made, it's all led us right back here. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I pushed you away, it felt inevitable, like we were always going to end up together. But then there's Ivan, and there's Miranda, and neither of us knew it was all part of their plan. And now, just when there's a chance, a sliver of a possibility that things could actually work between us, I'm not even sure I want that anymore. For years, I'd raised our children alone, clinging to the hope that you'd cback and tellyou were wrong. Now, the thought of us being together just fillswith a hollow ache." The anger, the betrayal - it was all still so raw, so present.

Tears welled up in my eyes, hot and stinging. I hadn't even realized I was crying until I felt them tracing a path down my cheeks. Wiping them away angrily, I stood up. My body ached, a dull throb that mirrored the pain in my heart. All I wanted was my babies back, safe and sound. Everything else seemed trivial, meaningless in comparison.

I walked away from him, my legs carryingon autopilot. I found myself in the bathroom, the sterile white tiles doing little to ease the turmoil inside me. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I barely recognized the woman looking back. My copper hair, usually a source of pride, was a tangled mess. The green eyes that used to sparkle with life were dull and lifeless.

I looked wrong, broken.

The memories cflooding back then, a relentless torrent of images and emotions. The sting of rejection, the cold, suffocating hate from my father, every moment I'd allowed Ivan near me, every lie he'd spun, every stolen kiss, every fleeting moment of happiness that now felt like a cruel joke.

The pain intensified, a pressure building behind my eyes. I needed it to stop, this constant ache that seemed to permeate every fiber of my being.

1/2 2/2 11:59 AM Chapter 136 O My gaze landed on a pair of scissors glinting on the counter. Without a second thought, I grabbed them, the cold metal a contrast to the burning heat in my chest.

Raising the scissors, I reached for a section of my hair at shoulder length. The act felt strangely detached, almost robotic. But the moment the blades closed around the hair, a jolt of electricity shot through me. It was like a physical manifestation of the emotional pain, a raw, searing reminder of everything I'd lost.

Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. But I couldn't stop. The scissors becan extension of my rage, a way to lash out at the world, at myself, at everything that felt so broken and beyond repair. Each snip was a defiant scream, a silent rebellion against the cruel hand fate had dealt me.

I kept cutting, a relentless rhythm echoing in the small bathroom until the floor beca scattered curtain of copper strands. My arms grew heavy, my breath coming in ragged gasps. Finally, with a choked sob, I let the scissors fall from my numb fingers. It clattered to the floor with a hollow thud, mirroring the emptiness echoing within me. Sinking to the ground, I wrapped my arms around myself, the sobs racking my entire body.

The pain didn't disappear. It was still there, a dull throb beneath the the act of surface. But for a a strange cutting my hair had offered a strange sense of release, a way to externalize the turmoil within. Looking around at the mess I'd created, I knew it wouldn't fix anything. But for now, it was enough. I don't know how long I stayed there on the cold bathroom floor, the sobs eventually turning into dry, shuddering gasps, and then a knock on the door startled me. It was Natalia's voice, laced with concern.

"Amaya, can I cin?"

I didn't answer, but the door creaked open a moment later. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hair scattered everywhere.

öm Without a word, she knelt down on the floor beside me, her presence a silent comfort. I didn't resist when she pulledinto a hug, my body curling into hers like a lost child seeking warmth. "You know," she whispered into my ear, her voice gentle, "I always thought a bob would look great on you."

Despite the situation, a choked laugh escaped my lips. I squeezed my eyes her embracedin shut, clinging to her embrace on this moment of utter despair, her simple words felt like a lifeline. Everyone needed a friend like Natalia in their lifetime. Just one single person like her. We sat there in comfortable silence for a while, the only sound the occasional sniffle escapinguntil Riley's sudden voice broke the quiet. "Amaya?" Her voice held a note of urgency that snapped my head up. Her eyes were wide with worry.

I scrambled to my feet, the remnants of despair momentarily forgotten. "Did your father find them? Did something happen to the twins?" "No," Riley answered, shaking her head. "We got a message from Ivan." My blood ran cold. The nsent a fresh wave of anger coursing through me.

"What did he say?” Natalia asked, her voice sharp as she moved to stand beside me.

Riley met my gaze directly. "He said since Alex is dead, he has no further use for the twins. He said he'll give them back to you." X She paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "But," she continued, "he wants to meet with you. Alone."