𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝓜𝓮

BONUS CHAPTER

✧༝┉˚ℤ𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕥˚┉༝✧

I watched her walk ahead, her every step more deliberate than the last, each one like a punch to my gut. Amelia. Of all people, Amelia. How could I have been so blind, so stupid to believe in her? To trust her when no one else did.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, the anger rising like a tidal wave inside me, crashing against everything I thought I knew. I'd wanted so badly to believe that someone, even someone like Amelia, could choose to be good. That maybe, just maybe, she was different. That she could have every reason to be selfish, to be cruel, and still choose to do the right thing. What a fucking fool.

I should've listened to everyone else. I should've known better. But no, I thought I could save her, change her, and now Emma was paying the price for my delusion.

I was furious at her, but more than that, I hated myself for giving her that chance. For letting her get close when she never deserved to.

Amelia picked up her pace as she neared the elevator, her hand shooting out towards the button like she was in some kind of hurry. I narrowed my eyes, my chest tightening with the weight of everything that had gone wrong because of her. A surge of power sparked at my fingertips, flickering, waiting.

Just as her fingers hovered over the button, I let it loose. A flicker of electricity shot out from my hand, fast and sharp. The jolt was small, but it was enough. She let out a soft hiss and snatched her hand back, her fingers recoiling from the shock, rubbing her hand where the shock had struck.

She glared down at her hand, still rubbing the sting away, and a part of me hated that I'd hurt her. The way she flinched, the sound she made—it dug into me. But I shoved that feeling deep, buried it under everything else. She deserved it. She had to.

Before she could try anything, I grabbed her hand, my fingers lacing tightly with hers, making sure there was no chance for her to pull away as I pressed the elevator button myself. I felt her tense at the contact, and I hated that I could still feel it, how the heat from her hand seemed to sear into mine.

She looked up at me, her brown eyes wide with surprise as they searched mine. I felt my heart skip a beat then, clenching my jaw against the sensation that rolled through me—like fire crawling under my skin. Even now, even after everything she'd done, I still felt it. Felt like I didn't want to be anywhere but close to her.

And it made me furious. How could I still feel this way? How could I still want her, still crave the touch of someone who played me like a goddamn fool? Only because I chose to believe her.

"I'm not going to run away from you," Amelia said, her voice quieter than before, like she thought it might calm me.

I swallowed hard, the words sticking in my throat as I looked away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. "I don't believe anything you say anymore," I shot back, my voice harsh, rough with everything I was holding back.