Page 94 of Breaking Isolde

Ophelia and I are alone in the kitchen. She sits across from me, folding her hands on the table.

For a minute, we say nothing.

Then, she asks, “Why do you want to go back?”

I stare into the mug, watching the steam fade. “Because I can’t live with myself if I don’t try. My sister—” The words catch. “She died for nothing. I can’t let that be the end.”

Ophelia nods. “I get it.”

I look up, surprised. “You do?”

She smiles, tired but real. “Yeah. My whole life, people expected me to break. To roll over and let them win. But I never did. I just… found something worth surviving for.”

She touches her belly, rubs the skin in slow circles. “Maybe that’s what keeps you going. Not hate, not revenge. Just… the need to be more than what they wanted from you.”

I don’t have an answer for that, so I just sit, letting her words settle.

Outside, the wind rattles the glass. The snow is coming down harder now, coating the world in white.

For a moment, I feel calm. Not happy, not safe, but calm.

It’s enough.

Ophelia stands, stretches, and moves to the window. She stares into the darkness, her reflection ghosting in the glass.

I finish my tea, then follow her, standing side by side, our bodies barely touching.

“We’ll win,” she says, quiet but sure. “I’m sorry we can’t come with, but I need to keep my baby safe. Nothing else matters.”

I nod.

“We’ll get enough revenge for the both of us, and all the girls who came before.”

Ophelia smiles, and the two of us watch the night, waiting for the storm to pass.

Chapter 20: Rhett

Caiuswatchesmewiththe placid calm of a man who’s never lost a bet. “How long do you need to lay low?”

I shrug. “Two, three days. By then the Board will either believe the story or they’ll be busy dealing with the fallout.”

Slade snorts. “You mean the corpse?”

I glance at him. “Valence won’t be a problem. Bam will see to that.”

Caius smiles. “Old habits die hard.”

I smirk, then cross to the bar and pour a shot of something expensive into a glass. I sip, then say, “I’ll have the Boys deal with the Board. Tell them that Isolde and I are on a ‘mini honeymoon.’ They’ll all believe it. ‘Doing my duty’ and all that shit. Every creep in the network will assume I’m staking my claim, not plotting treason.”

Slade grins around his cigarette. “They’ll buy it. She was a legend before she even made it to the ritual.”

“Board wants to keep the illusion alive, not acknowledge that one of their own got snuffed by a student.” I drain the glass and set it down with a click. “They’ll run damage control before they ever take a run at me, even if they suspect it. Now that I’m sworn in, it’ll look bad to the Funders to kill one of their own.”

Caius leans forward, arms folded. “You’re gonna have to be real careful, Rhett.”

“I know.”

He studies me, and I know what he’s seeing: I’m not just a Boy anymore. I’m a man, one who will do anything for my girl, just like he did. He approves, even if he doesn’t say it. This is how our world works—violence, then order.