Reborn

Chapter Thirty Nine

SHADOW's POV

Why?

How could she do this to me, to us? How could she kiss someone else and look at me as though she was pleading with me to forgive her? And how could she even try to comfort me as I stared at the face that looked so eerily similar to my maker, my tormentor, as though I was going to forget all about what she did?

My heart broke just thinking about her with somebody else. My cold, undead heart had shattered the moment I'd heard what Leah had said, and those fragments turned to dust the moment Violet didn't deny it.

This is why I never wanted to let anybody get too close ─ the pain was too fucking much. Honestly, I'd rather be living with Viktor again than continue with this heartache because at least I could deal with physical pain. Emotional pain I was just not equipped to deal with and I usually ended up lashing out in all the wrong ways.

How could she do this? Did she just not love me anymore, was that it? Somehow, I didn't believe that, so why?

Having been going out of my damn mind without her, missing her and loving her, I'd been terrified at some of the things that crossed my mind, some of the things I was certain Benjamin would be putting her through. Yet while I hadn't known for certain what I'd find when I rescued her, I definitely had not expected her to have been living in a luxurious place and kissing other men.

I growled under my breath. Maybe I just wasn't enough for Violet and that's why she did it. I'd always known she could do a hell of a lot better than me, so perhaps the distance between us lately had just solidified the thought in her mind too. Perhaps, with all the time spent away from me, she had come to the conclusion she didn't need me or love me at all.

You know that's not true, my mind whispered to me, though the more it lingered in my mind, the more I wondered. Why else would she do it?

I did know that she loved me, but maybe it just wasn't enough anymore. Violet had always made sure I never doubted her feelings, just as I'd done the same for her but now... it was like I was sinking down a dark hole, a dark hole of memories of the two of us. Every tender moment shared, every kiss, every touch... it was all replaying in my mind and I had to force my eyes to remain open so I wouldn't allow myself to drown in all the memories because I didn't know what was going to happen now. I didn't know what the future held for us now, so the last thing I wanted was to reminisce. I had plenty of time to do that later when I wasn't in a room with my enemies.

"So we come and rescue Violet only to find out she never needed rescuing at all?" Alec was the first to break the silence that had settled over us once we'd all walked inside. Benjamin stood by the window, his friends standing around him.

I cast a quick glance towards Violet, expecting her to be watching me but she wasn't. She was staring at Benjamin with a thoughtful expression on her face.

What the fuck had she been up to while she'd been here?

"I did need rescuing and I always have needed rescuing," She spoke up, her voice just as melodic as it always had been. Even now, when I was angry and hurt and betrayed, she still managed to make my spirits lift a little. I didn't like that. Not now. "But then I found out what was really going on and I─"

She cut off there, eyes flickering over to meet mine and as much as I wanted to look away, I couldn't bring myself to. She had me captivated, just as she always had.  Eyes as blue as the clearest ocean stared back at me and everything else just seemed to disappear as time stood still around us. Violet was beautiful, gorgeous, stunning... every word synonymous with beauty and she was it, and I always knew I'd been lucky to be able to call her mine.