Broken Ring, Broken Bond Chapter 09

Broken Ring, Broken Bond Chapter 09

Three months later, my personal collection launched in Paris.

I named it Gap.

Right before showtime, my assistant brought a bouquet of white roses backstage.

There was no name on the card.

Just one line.

[Good luck with the show.]

I glanced at it and handed it back to her.

“Put it out front.”

She asked.

“Don’t you want to keep it?”

“I’m allergic to pollen.”

I was actually not allergic.

Julian just never knew that.

And I was finally done making excuses for all the things he forgot.

He always remembered Tessa hated the cold, that she had a sensitive stomach, that she couldn’t drink ice water after surgery.

But he never remembered I hated white roses.

The launch was a huge success.

—

The broken-band ring became the most talked-about piece of the night.

After the show, in an interview, a reporter asked, “Ms. Brooks, is this collection about heartbreak?”

I said, “It’s about leaving.”

The reporter smiled and pressed on.

“What’s the difference between leaving and heartbreak?”

I thought for a second.

“Heartbreak means you still look back. Leaving means there’s a road ahead.”

My wolf rested quiet against my heart.

She didn’t look back toward the old pack anymore.

Someone in the audience clapped softly.

After the interview, my assistant handed me her tablet, her expression weird.

“PackNet is blowing up again.”

Crestmoon Pack got exposed for accounting fraud.

The full proof of Tessa’s fake marketing and design theft came out, plus old records of her manipulating brands with pity plays.

The Crestmoon Pack board and a handful of pack elders jointly announced they were suspending all of Julian’s duties at the group.

—

The comment section was full of rage.

[Serves him right. Protected his side piece until he lost the whole company.]

[Aurora got out just in time, smart girl.]

[Too little, too late. Better late than never, but this is just garbage.]

I closed the tablet.

After the victory dinner that night, I saw Julian waiting for me outside the hotel.

He’d lost so much weight, his black coat hung loose on his frame.

He was still holding a dark blue velvet box.

It wasn’t my old ring.

When he saw me, his eyes lit up for a split second.

“Aurora.”

I stopped on the steps.

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to congratulate you in person.”

He held out the box.

“I had a new one made. Your name is engraved inside, this time.”

I didn’t take it.

“Julian, you still don’t get it.”

—

I never wanted a new ring.

I wanted the trust he should have given me, the one he gave to Tessa over and over and over again, instead.

He smiled bitterly.

“I knew you wouldn’t take it.”

“Then why come all the way here?”

He stared down at the box in his hands.

“You always won awards before, and I was always there. I wanted to be here today, too.”

I said, “You were there before because I invited you.”

His face went stiff.

“I didn’t invite you now.”

Snow landed on his shoulders, melting into water quick.

His voice was so quiet I could barely hear it.

“Aurora, I cut all ties with Tessa for good. It’s over.”

I didn’t say anything.

He rushed to explain.

“She admitted everything. The press conference, the hotel, the PackNet trending topics—she planned all of it. I turned all the evidence over to the police, and I’m not covering for her anymore.”

—

I asked, “What about the babies?”

Julian froze.

“What do you mean?”

“Can you cut the babies she aborted for you loose for good, too?”

They were two pups that never got to be born, and old debt he’d never be able to run from.

His lips went white.

“I’ll compensate her.”

I shook my head.

“See? You still only know how to compensate people.”

His eyes filled with tears.

“What else am I supposed to do?”

I looked at him.

“That’s your life. You shouldn’t be asking me that.”

He squeezed the box so tight his knuckles went white.

“I’ve been thinking this whole time. If I’d chased you that night, if I’d believed you at the press conference, if I hadn’t caught her at the hotel…”

“Julian.”

I cut him off.

—

“Every single what-if you’re saying is a choice that already happened.”

The light in his eyes faded, little by little.

I turned to leave.

He suddenly asked, “Did you ever love me?”

I paused for two seconds.

“I did.”

He looked up, like he was grabbing onto the last shred of hope.

I kept going.

“That’s why it hurt so bad.”

The snow got heavier.

He stood there, and didn’t chase me again.

I walked into the hotel lobby, and before the glass door slid shut, I saw him open the box.

The ring inside sat cold in the snow, no light at all.