The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 11

The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 11

She had known all along.

Cressida had known how Bram felt about her, and she had never rejected it. She had simply taken his care, his attention, and his favoritism as if they belonged to her.

Even after he married Aveline, she still wanted every woman around him pushed out of the way.

Bram pried her fingers off his sleeve one by one, without the slightest mercy.

“I did feel something for you once,” he said quietly, more to himself than to her.

“But after I married Aveline, the woman I loved was her. Only her.”

He let go of Cressida’s hand and stepped back.

“Live with what you’ve done.”

Then he turned and walked out, his figure disappearing into the moonlight.

Cressida stood there in a daze, tears still hanging on her face. She had forgotten how to cry.

Slowly, she turned to Thorne.

“Thorne…”

Thorne stood by the door. He had not spoken once.

He looked at Cressida without anger, without disappointment. There was only a hollow emptiness in his eyes.

Suddenly, he remembered a day from years ago. Aveline had stood under a blooming tree in Foxglove Gap, rising onto her toes to place a wildflower crown on his head.

Her eyes had been bright then, clear as mountain water.

And he had dirtied that water with his own hands.

“I betrayed her,” he said, his voice dry, “for someone like you.”

Cressida opened her mouth, but Thorne did not let her speak.

“The engagement is off.”

Then he turned and strode out of the room.

Moonlight spilled over the stone path outside. Bram and Thorne walked one behind the other, their shadows stretched long across the garden.

At the corner, Thorne stopped.

“Where is she?”

Bram did not turn around. His voice was low and rough.

“The chapel was full of snakes and insects. She must have left that night. I called you here because I need you to find her.”

Thorne was silent for a moment.

Then his mouth twisted.

“You want me to help you find her?”

“Bram, she left because she doesn’t want to see you.”

Bram spun around, his eyes bloodshot.

“Don’t stand there pretending you’re better than me. If you hadn’t branded her cursed to protect Cressida, she never would have—”

“And you?” Thorne cut him off, his voice suddenly cold.

For the first time, anger surged in those usually calm eyes.

“Do you think I don’t know what you did? You married her to clear the way for Cressida. Then when you realized you wanted Aveline for yourself, you started panicking that she might still care about me.”

His gaze sharpened.

“So you were happy to keep her locked away. At least that way, you didn’t have to be afraid.”

“You—”

“Am I wrong?”

Thorne’s voice was not loud, but every word went straight into the softest part of Bram’s chest.

“You never truly trusted her. You thought she would betray you. You thought she was still waiting for me.”

“So you would rather let her be dragged through town and locked in that chapel than risk believing she had chosen you.”

Bram’s eyes reddened.

He wanted to argue, but his throat felt blocked. Not a single word came out.

Thorne looked at him and suddenly laughed, the sound full of scorn.

“Meeting us was the worst luck Aveline ever had.”

With that, he turned and walked into the dark.

Bram stood where he was.

He lowered his head and looked at the silver comb in his palm.

He pressed it hard against his chest, but the pain twisting through him did not ease.

It only sank deeper.

“Aveline…”