TRADING MY CHEATING HUSBAND FOR THE LYCAN KING novel Chapter 98

CHAPTER 67: RAYANA’S TRADE–1

EMBER’S POV

“I want to recover here. In this penthouse. Not locked away somewhere safe and isolated.”

And there it is. The trade she’s been building toward.

I almost laugh.

“You want to stay here,” I repeat slowly. “With us. With Knox.”

“You heard me. What part of dying don’t you seem to understand?” She says it without self–pity, just stating

fact. “I came to this Summit for my bucket list. And I won’t lie that some part of me does want to… rekindle my love with the man I thought I’d marry. I know I’m not going to get everything I wanted. But I

can at least spend my last healthy months somewhere I’m not completely alone.”

Every instinct in my body is screaming no. Having Rayana in our space, recovering in our guest room,

constantly present and needy and dying right down the hall from where Knox and I are trying to move on

from a dark few days.

“You’re manipulating me.”

“I’m negotiating, sweet heart.” She corrects me calmly. “I have information you need. A license plate that

could lead you to whoever is orchestrating this mayhem in your life. Congratulations on your little court win, but being with Knox means you have an unhealthy number of targets on your back. I am giving you an

advantage. And in exchange, I want a place to recover that isn’t sterile and lonely. All I want is a fair trade.”

“There’s nothing fair about using your own injury as leverage.”

“There’s nothing fair about dying at thirty–two either, but here we are.”

The monitoring equipment beeps steadily. Rayana watches me with eyes that are calculating and genuine

all at once.

She’s playing games even now but she’s also genuinely scared. Genuinely alone. Genuinely dying. I can tell that much from the look in her eyes.

That particular brand of terror dressed up as bravado.

I used to wear that same expression in the mirror, convincing myself that Gale’s fists weren’t so bad, that I could survive another day if I just kept pretending hard enough.

And better, she has information that could lead us to whoever stabbed her. Whoever possibly erased hospital records. Whoever is trying to destroy Knox and everyone around him.

My heart pounds, and I hate myself for my next words.

“If you stay here,” I say carefully, “there are rules. You don’t manipulate Knox. You don’t create drama. You don’t use your illness to guilt him into anything he wouldn’t do otherwise.”

CHAPTERLY WAIN’S TRADE?

“Agreed.”

+75 Pants

~“And the second Dr. Patel clears you to travel, you’re gone. No extensions, no games, and no excuses,

Rayana.”

“Agreed.”

“And you give me the license plate right now. Not after we shake hands or sign something. Right now.”

Rayana smiles, and for the first time it looks genuine.

“You really are smarter than you look.”

Then she recites the number from memory.

I commit it to memory immediately, repeating it back to make sure I have it right. Then I extend my hand toward the bed. The gesture feels absurd given everything but also somehow necessary.

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