Approved for Her Rejected for Me novel Chapter 24

Chapter 7

Riley’s POV

“Briar!”

I didn’t move. Grayson’s shout cracked through the hall. He instinctively stepped in front of me.

shoulders tense as if bracing to shield me from an attack.

“Watch your tone,” he warned, voice low and cold. “This is Riley’s home.”

The wolf inside me stirred, not from warmth, but from the absurdity of hearing such a sentence

now, after so many years too late.

Looking at his back, I couldn’t stop the memory of all the times he’d stood exactly like this for Briar. Always for her.

How laughable. Men like him loved playing the hero… but always saved the wrong person.

Briar’s face stiffened. Tears instantly welled in her eyes.

“Grayson, you’ve never yelled at me!” She pointed at me, sobbing dramatically. “Now that Riley Monroe is back, are you just going to throw me away?”

Grayson hesitated, voice softening. “Briar, Riley suffered a lot these years. The crash… she didn’t

mean-”

“She DID mean it!” Her scream pierced the air. “She dragged me into that car! If you hadn’t saved me, I’d be dead!”

I stepped out from behind him, my voice sharp as ice. “And did you die?”

“Riley-”

Grayson reached for me but couldn’t find a single word.

Briar flinched as my aura swept over her. “W…what did you say?”

I slapped her across the face. The sound cracked through the hall. I immediately grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her face up to meet mine.

“I asked you did you die? You really want me to say out loud why I dragged you into that car?”

She thrashed wildly, nails scraping across my arm.

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“Let me go! You’re insane! Riley Monroe, you psycho-”

In the struggle, my mask was ripped off. The room fell silent. Briar saw my face and let out a shrill, animalistic scream before collapsing to the floor.

“Y-your face…”

Pure fear twisted her features.

“So disgusting…”

Grayson froze, snatched the mask up immediately, panic spilling out.

“Riley, don’t be afraid. It’s alright. I—I’ll-”

I yanked the mask from him, but didn’t put it on.

Instead, I stared at the two of them and let every uneven scar show, letting the burns sting their

vision the way they had burned through my life.

“Disgusting?” I laughed softly. “Did I just scare your precious little sister?”

My gaze cut to Grayson. My voice was quiet, almost gentle, but dripping with cruelty.

“You know exactly who did this to me… don’t you, dear brother?”

His pupils trembled violently. “Riley…”

I ignored him. I walked toward Briar, who was still shaking on the floor. I crouched down until my

shadow swallowed her whole.

“Listen carefully. I have nothing left. And that means, I fear nothing. You’d better stay away

1. Otherwise, feel free to find out whether I’ll actually kill you.”

from

Briar’s legs buckled completely. She collapsed again, trembling like she might shatter from a

breath of wind.

“M-monster… you’re a monster…”

Behind me, Grayson remained silent, his emotions coiled so tightly he looked seconds from breaking.

“Riley…” His voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

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I drew in a long breath, forcing the wolf inside me back down.

“You can say ‘sorry’ a hundred times. It means nothing.”

I looked around the house, the home I’d lived in for twenty years, now scrubbed of every trace of

The walls that used to hold family photos now displayed Briar’s graduation portrait. The shelves, the counters, the hallway… everywhere was her. This place had erased me long before left.

“This dinner isn’t happening,” I said quietly. “With me here, neither of you can eat anyway.”

Grayson opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak.

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