TRADING MY CHEATING HUSBAND FOR THE LYCAN KING novel Chapter 190

CHAPTER 13THREE DAYS AWAY–2

CHAPTER 131: THREE DAYS AWAY–2

“No,” Knox says.

“Why not?” Rayana almost whines. “Because you don’t like Rafael? Grow up, Knox. Not everything is about your petty rivalries.”

“It’s not petty-”

“I’m dying.” Rayana says it simply, without drama, and somehow that makes it worse. “I have a few weeks,

maybe. Months if I’m extraordinarily lucky. And I’m asking for three days to see something beautiful with a few people who may or may not care about me before my body gives out completely. Is that really so

unreasonable?”

Knox doesn’t answer.

His hands are clenched at his sides and I can see him fighting something, pride or protectiveness or some combination of both that’s making it impossible for him to see past Rafael’s involvement to what Rayana

is actually asking for.

How the hell did they even get talking?

“When you return to the States,” Rafael says, his voice dropping into something almost gentle, almost reasonable, “you’ll be the Lycan King again. Every minute of your time will be scheduled. Every hour will be accounted for. Meetings and councils and the endless exhaustion of the crown pressing down on you both.” He looks at me, and I hate that I can’t tell if the concern in his eyes is genuine or not. “When exactly do you plan to give her a break, Knox? A real moment of peace? Because from where I’m standing, all you’ve given her since this Summit started is trauma.”

The words steals the air in the room.

Knox flinches, and something in my chest twists because while the Summit had been chaotic, it wasn’t

Knox’s fault.

Since Christmas Eve I’ve been targeted and threatened and paraded before councils and attacked by my ex–husband and caught in the middle of bullets and blood.

I’ve been through more in the past week than in the previous eight years of my marriage.

And Knox has been there through all of it, yes, protecting me, fighting for me, but Rafael is right that protection and peace aren’t the same thing.

I look at Rayana, fragile and fierce on the couch. At Rafael, smooth and somewhat mysterious by the window. At Knox, rigid with resistance he can’t quite justify.

And something stubborn rises in my chest.

I’m so tired of being the thing everyone fights over. The object to be protected or claimed or stolen

< CHAPTER 131 THREE DAYS AWAY–2

Decisions made around me instead of with me, my safety prioritized over my agency, my choices filtered through what Knox thinks is best.

Maybe I want to give Rayana a fitting ending. Maybe I want to understand what Rafael is really after.

Maybe I just want three days where nobody is actively trying to kill me and I can breathe without checking for exits.

“I think we should go.”

Knox’s head snaps toward me.

“Ember-”

“Three days.” I hold his gaze, letting him see that I mean it. “Three days to see something beautiful and figure out what happens next. A layover before we head back to the States.”

Knox’s jaw tightens. He grabs my elbow and steers me toward the corner of the room, his grip firm.

“Take your time,” Rafael calls after us, his voice dripping with charm. “No rush at all.”

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