74 Chapter 74 Make Your Choice
His response came without hesitation. “I’m staying in my son’s life. Obviously.”
The audacity of his words sent anger coursing through my veins. He created this bond, this connection that neither of us wanted, yet somehow I would bear the blame for its existence. Everything wrong in his world always traced back to me.
I drew a shaking breath, fighting for composure. “What’s done is done,” I said, meeting his gaze directly. “What happens now? What are your plans?”
The mention of that innocent child sent a wave of guilt through me. Part of me, the woman I used to be who craved love and acceptance, genuinely felt sorry for her. But years of hurt had buried that compassionate side deep inside me.
I closed my eyes briefly, feeling that familiar ache resurface before pushing it aside. “But I’ll fight with everything I have to survive for my little boy. So you need to make a
choice.”
My wolf felt every ounce of his rejection, amplifying the torment until it became nearly
unbearable.
He let out a harsh laugh, bitter and cold, but I pressed forward. “Yet you have the nerve to question my choices?” The words came out sharper now. “Don’t pretend you’re the injured party here, Seraphina.”
I wasn’t asking him to abandon his daughter or pretend the decision would be easy. “I just need to know your priorities. I need to see if you’ll be as present for my son as you are for her. Make that decision soon, because if you don’t, I’ll make it for you.”
Something like his old arrogance flickered across his features. “What am I supposed to do? Abandon my daughter?”
I wasn’t being cruel or vindictive. This was about protecting my child from disappointment and broken promises.
Seraphina’s POV
“But that’s not possible,” he continued, his dark eyes shifting with an emotion I couldn’t name. “You carry my child. My blood runs through that baby.”
I took a steadying breath, the words feeling heavy and final. “If you choose Roxanne and your life with her, Julian, then commit to that choice completely. And I will reject
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our bond. Even though rejecting a marked mate brings excruciating pain and dangerous consequences. The survival rate is almost nonexistent.”
Then came the contradiction that would bind us forever.
My son wouldn’t endure the same emotional turmoil I had suffered during those three painful years. He deserved a mother who would protect him from that kind of damage.
My heart had endured this treatment before, but the pain never lessened. It shattered repeatedly, leaving jagged pieces that cut me from the inside. The agony was almost physical, radiating through my chest like fire. Tears threatened to spill, but I refused to let them fall. He wouldn’t witness my breakdown.
Each word struck me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. My chest tightened as the familiar ache spread through my ribcage. Gone. That’s what he wanted.
I managed a smile, though it felt like shattered glass against my lips. “That’s precisely why I disappeared for all those years, Julian,” I replied, my voice steadier than I felt. “I wanted to give you the tranquility you deserved. The serenity you obviously still desire.”
“I do feel sorry for her,” I admitted, my voice softening slightly with weary resignation. “But I refuse to become a piece in your elaborate game. I won’t stand by and watch you destroy my son’s heart the way you destroyed mine. The constant uncertainty, the mixed signals – he deserves better than that.”
The atmosphere in the room suffocated me, thick with tension and memories I wished I could erase forever. Julian faced me with that piercing stare that had always made me feel exposed, as if every secret I harbored lay bare before him.
His jaw clenched visibly. “He’s our son, Seraphina.”
A tiny flame of hope flickered to life in my chest, only to be immediately crushed by reality. “It won’t be that simple, Julian,” I warned, my voice gaining strength. “I won’t allow confusion in our son’s life. One day he wants something, the next day something else entirely. Until you figure out what you truly want, until you commit to a decision, you need to keep your distance from him.”
“I need you gone, Seraphina,” his voice rumbled through the space between us, rough and unforgiving. “Nothing would make me happier than having you disappear from my existence completely.”
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His accusation sparked something fierce inside me. “If I wanted pity, Julian,” I snapped back, finding strength I didn’t know I possessed, “I wouldn’t be standing here admitting my mistakes without excuses. I know I made terrible choices. But they were necessary. Somewhere in that stubborn mind of yours, you understand that. You know I did what had to be done.”
This endless cycle of blame served no purpose. He shared responsibility for driving me away, yet he stood there acting like an innocent victim of my decisions.
The silence that followed felt endless, stretching between us like a chasm. “And I’ve marked you,” he added, the admission hanging in the air like a curse. “None of that changes the fact that we’ll never be anything to each other again. Ever.”
“Yes, he’s ours,” I agreed, but my tone remained firm. “And he’s also mine. When it comes to his wellbeing, I don’t compromise, and I don’t tolerate games.”
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