The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 263

Chapter 132-1

I blink, caught entirely off guard.

Claim

For a fraction of a second, tocke holds his breath. His shoulders tense, his eyes darting across my face as if braced for me to recoil, shut down, or burst into tears at the mention of my ex-husband’s name.

Instead, a quiet snort escapes my nose, turning into a full, breathless laugh that echoes off the windows.

Locke blinks. “You’re laughing?”

“I’m sorry,” I wheeze. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. I’m just… I’m actually not upset at all. I’m deeply flattered that you think I shouldn’t have been with him, considering that the man is a walking, breathing asshole.”

“He is an asshole,” Locke states plainly. “He’s a selfish, arrogant, control-obsessed bastard who treated you like shit.”

A soft, warm ache blooms in my chest at the sheer, unadulterated hostility in his voice… hostility born entirely out of how fiercely, completely he loves me.

“I know,” I say, the laughter fading from my voice. “He is all of those things. But I didn’t always know that, Locke.”

I pull my knees up to my chest, resting my chin against the soft wool of the blanket, staring into the bright golden heart of the fire as the memories stir up like faint ash in a draft.

“When you’re young, you don’t look for red flags,” I say. “You look for bright lights. And back then, Knox burned brighter than anyone I’d ever seen.”

Locke doesn’t interrupt. He shifts closer, his massive, warm shoulder pressing solid against mine, giving me an anchor in the present while I look back at the ghosts of my past.

“I was eighteen, still in high school, and coming around the clubhouse after hours to help Dad with the books,” I say softly, watching a single ember pop against the iron grate. “Knox was twenty-two, Mayhem’s best friend, and he was always there. He walked into the clubhouse like he owned the place – charismatic, dangerous, reckless – and the moment he looked at me, he made me feel like I was the only girl in the room.”

I turn my head, looking into Locke’s steady, patient eyes.

“I fell in love immediately,” I say, the words heavy with a decade of hindsight. “It was fast, it was reckless, and it was the biggest fucking mistake of my life… one that I’m still paying for now, ten years later.”

The crackle of the fireplace seems louder now, filling the quiet pause between us. The heat from the hearth is steady, bathing my skin in golden warmth, but inside, I can feel the old, familiar chill waking up. I’m opening a closet door I haven’t looked into for a very long time.

Locke doesn’t rush me.

“Take your time, baby,” he says. “We’ve got all night.”

“To understand why I fell for it, you have to understand where Knox came from,” I say. “And where I was

12

Chapter 132-

standing when he walked into my life

Mtake a deep breath, letting the steady beat of Locke’s heart ground me in the present where I’m safe, wanted, and deeply loved.

Clam

“Knox didn’t just appear out of nowhere. You know that he was practically royalty in the MC world, even back then,” I say. “His Dad had been the President of the Night Howlers, but when Knox was fifteen, his father was ambushed and killed in a bloody turf war right outside their original clubhouse.”

Locke listens silently, his chest expanding under my cheek as he draws a long, slow breath.

“From that single moment, Knox’s entire life path was carved in stone,” I say. “Him joining the Howlers was never a question, a choice, or something he even debated. It was a birthright, a heavy burden, and an absolute obsession to prove he was just as tough as the father he lost.”

Locke’s mouth sets into a rigid line. “Legacy can be a dangerous poison if you let it swallow you.”

“It swallowed him whole,” I agree. “At the same time, Knox was best friends with Mayhem back then. They grew up on the same rough streets, played high school football side by side, and were practically inseparable throughout their teenage years.”

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