Scarlett (Second Edition) by Karima Saad Usman novel Chapter 174

just as his warmth settled atdod me everything went dark

Scarlett

Chapter 174

And then there was Keith. I knew we had no true bond, and the idea of severing a connection I had with Maxwell, Clay, and Lucian-connections that ran deeper than I could put into words felt just as painful as mourning a death. I knew what Keith had endured when his own mate was taken from him. Breaking this bond would be just as devastating, and somehow, even worse.

“I guess I’ll leave you to it, then,” Maxwell said, stepping back, his face calm, even serene. But I could feel the agony beneath that mask, feel his heart splintering as he tried to turn away, ready to walk out of my life.

Without thinking, I reached out, my hand finding his arm. He stopped and looked at me, and for a moment, there was a flicker of hope, tentative and raw is his eyes.

I took a deep breath, letting go of the walls I’d built, allowing myself to be vulnerable, if only for a moment.

“I don’t want Keith. Not… not in that sense,” I confessed, the words slipping out quietly. It was my truth, a piece of my heart laid bare.

Maxwell’s gaze softened, but the resignation didn’t fade entirely. He looked at me as though he understood, but as if he also knew it didn’t undo the damage we’d all suffered.

The silence stretched between us, thick with unspoken words, but for the first time in a long time, it didn’t feel like a wall. It felt like a beginning-or at least, the smallest glimmer of possibility in the wreckage.

“So… you want to return to the South?” Maxwell asked, his voice soft but searching.

I didn’t answer right away because, in truth, the South had never really felt like home. It was a place of isolation, where I was kept like a secret, hidden am without connections or kin. No friends, no family-just a quiet bitterness and memories of being cast aside.

The only pull to the South was the promise of revenge. Revenge against David for everything he’d done. But as I stood there, the realization hit me w David, if I satisfied that burning anger… then what? Would I spend the rest of my life alone, consumed by bitterness? Was my anger worth a bletime of

misery and emptiness?

I wasn’t that weak girl anymore. No one could hurt me the way they once had -I was stronger, sharper, and capable of defending myself i wash; with choices, so why did I keep holding back? Why was I so afraid of getting hurt again, of giving up this shield of anger?

Maxwell waited, his gaze gentle but persistent, as if he was hoping I’d finally let him in. I opened my mouth, ready to speak, but a vision washebo gripping me like a cold hand.

The same figure on the pale horse appeared, riding closer, but this time, the scenery shifted. The warm vegetation of the South united into something e entirely-eastern landscapes, stark and snow-covered. The rider left a path of destruction behind them, the ground scorched in the wake yet do thes neared the snow-covered terrain, something about them softened.

Still, their face remained a blur, unreadable, though I felt their gaze piercing through me, heavy with purpose. I couldn’t set they were ster 21 Sav but the feeling was unmistakable they were coming for me.

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