Forever His

Chapter 81: Cracks In Perfection

Shahmeer's POV:

A half-a-heart charm dangles from it, the metal dull and slightly worn. My fingers freeze midair, a strange familiarity crawling up my spine. I know this bracelet. I've seen it before.

Then it hits me.

The CCTV footage. The night in London.

The guy who shot down our billboard was wearing this.

My entire body locks up, my grip tightening around the edge of the drawer. My pulse is steady, but inside, something sharp and cold slithers through me. I pick up the bracelet, turning it over in my hand, my mind running a hundred miles an hour.

Then I see the note.

A small, folded piece of paper, tucked just beneath the bracelet. I unfold it carefully, my eyes scanning the words, each letter slicing into me like a blade.

"Perfect, isn't it? Let's see how long it lasts."

A quiet storm brews inside me, tightening its grip around my chest. My jaw clenches as I read it again, slower this time. There's no name, no signature. But the message is clear—it's a warning. A game. A threat.

I fold the note back, slipping it into my pocket along with the bracelet. I grab the diamond bracelet she actually asked for and school my expression into something neutral before heading back downstairs.

She's waiting at the bottom, looking up at me with a soft smile. But the moment I see her—so effortlessly beautiful, so untouched by the storm brewing in my head—I feel something dark coil inside me. 

"What took you so long?" she asks, tilting her head slightly.

I force a small smirk, keeping my voice casual but lacing it with something only I understand. "Just got caught up with something unexpected."

She doesn't think twice about it. Doesn't analyze my words. She simply extends her wrist toward me, expecting me to fasten the bracelet onto her like I always do.

But I don't.

Instead, I place it in her palm and walk past her.

She looks at me, confused. "Shahmeer?"

I don't stop. I head straight for the door. "I'm waiting in the car."

She calls after me. "Can we go in the—"

Before she can finish, the guards push the door open for me and shut it behind me, cutting her off.

I exhale slowly, stepping into the cold night air, my mind running in circles.

This isn't over. Not by a long shot. 

                                                                                  _______________

The restaurant is buzzing with conversation, laughter, and the clinking of cutlery against fine china. But to me, it's all muted, like I'm underwater—adrift in a silence only I can hear.

She sits beside me, completely unaware, talking, smiling, glowing in the soft golden lights. She's as breathtaking as ever. And yet, I feel nothing but the weight of my disgust.

She ruined everything.

I let her in. I let her walk through doors I had bolted shut for years. I let her trace her fingertips over my scars, whisper her way into my darkness, and somehow, I believed she belonged there. I thought she was different. I thought she was mine.

But I was wrong.

The secret she unknowingly carried, the bracelet, the note—it all gnaws at me like poison in my veins. My hands clench under the table, my jaw tightens, but I don't say a word. She turns to me at one point, nudging my arm lightly, trying to pull me into a conversation. I don't respond. I can't.