Forced to Take the Blame, Reborn as Silverveil’s Royalty Chapter 08

Forced to Take the Blame, Reborn as Silverveil’s Royalty Chapter 08

“So now you know how to care about me?”

I gave a bitter little smile. My throat hurt like it was being sliced open with a knife.

“When you found a witch to take my wolf and give it to someone else, who were you caring about?

When I was in prison, who were you caring about? When you took the money I’d spent five years saving to keep myself alive, who were you caring about then?”

Their faces went white.

“Althea, we were confused back then…” my mother sobbed. “We just wanted… wanted you to be

more independent, stronger. We thought it was for your own good…”

“For my own good?” I laughed until tears came. “Stealing my wolf was for my own good? Sending me to prison was for my own good? Taking the money that was supposed to save my life was for my

own good?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…” She shook her head frantically.

“Then what did you mean?” I asked. “Go on. Tell me.”

She could not.

She just cried.

My father let out a long sigh. “Althea, we know there’s nothing we can say right now that will make

this better. But we really do know we were wrong. Just give us one chance to make it up to you.

Please?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t want to see either of you. Not for one minute.”

“Althea…”

“Get out.”

They both froze.

But they did not leave.

Over the next few days, they took turns staying with me, feeding me, helping me bathe, caring for

me down to the smallest detail.

All I felt was disgust.

Every time they touched me, it made my skin crawl.

I wanted to go back to that other world. I wanted Isolde’s life back. I wanted the mother who made

me fried eggs,

the father who played chess with me, and Darian with his clear, steady eyes.

But the System told me the deal had already been completed, and there was no going back.

Unless my parents in the original world chose to cancel the deal themselves.

But they never would.

“Althea, have some soup.”

My mother came in carrying an insulated tumbler and said carefully, “I simmered it for a long time.

Just try a little.”

I glanced at it and did not move.

Her eyes reddened again, but she forced out a smile anyway.

“If you don’t want it, that’s okay. You can have it later when you’re hungry.”

She sat by the bed, looking at me like she wanted to say something and did not know how.

“Althea, I know you don’t want to see us right now… but I need you to know that I really do love

you.”

“I’ve loved you since the day you were born. I just loved you the wrong way. I was too obsessed with

repaying that debt. I kept thinking it mattered more than anything else… I was wrong…”

Then she started crying again.

But my heart was already dead.

The day I was discharged, Ronan came.

He stood in the doorway of my hospital room, not even daring to step inside. He looked gaunt and drained, like life had not been kind to him either.

“Althea…”

I did not even look at him.

“I want to talk to you,” he said.

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“I know I was wrong…” He walked in and dropped to his knees beside the bed.

“Althea, I know the truth now. The person who saved me under that overpass that night was you,

not Lyra…”

“It was Mom. She told me. I thought Lyra was the one who saved my life, so I…”

His voice broke apart into sobs.

“I regret it. I really regret it… Can you forgive me? Can we start over?”

I looked at the man I had loved for ten years.

Once, he had been the only reason I kept living.

Now, all I felt for him was pity.

“Ronan, I don’t love you anymore.”

He went still.

“The day you said we were over was the day I stopped loving you.”

“Now leave.”

“Althea…”

“Get out.”

He left, glancing back every few steps.

But my heart did not stir even once.

My parents took me home.

They had bought a new house. It was not large, but it was warm and comfortable.

They said the old house held too many bad memories, so they wanted a fresh start somewhere new.

They treated me well, with such carefulness that it almost felt fearful.

All I felt was tired.

I wanted to die.

But every time I tried, they caught it in time, wrapped me in their arms, and sobbed as they begged

me not to leave.

“Althea, if you go, I won’t keep living either…” my mother cried. –

My father said, “Sweetheart, give me one chance. I’ve never even really been a father to you.”

There was no way out.

And no way to die.

That night, I sat on the balcony and watched the stream of headlights below.

One step off the edge and it would all be over.

But I never got the chance.

“Want to die?”

A voice suddenly spoke behind me.