He Signed My Freedom Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 51
Then I pulled up my pant leg and showed him the long, silvery scar there.
“This one came from the elevator, after you ordered Vivian rescued first. That night, the Healer removed seven metal fragments from my leg. The three of you were at a restaurant, celebrating that she hadn’t missed the Moon Festival.”
The color drained from Noah’s face.
“Mom, I didn’t mean to push you.”
“All of you keep saying you didn’t mean it,” I said, looking at him. “But doing something over and over doesn’t become harmless just because you say you didn’t mean to.”
Iris reached out, tears streaming down her face.
“We really do know we were wrong now.”
I waited until her crying eased before continuing.
“I loved you very much once.”
“When Iris was born, her wolf vitals were weak, and I stayed in the medical wing for seven days. When Noah failed his first wolf-sense training and was too afraid to go back, I walked him to the academy grounds every single day.”
“I remembered your birthdays, your allergies, and every fear you ever had.”
“But love can be used up.”
“When you wanted me to lose my wolf, when you wanted me out of Highridge, and when you led Vivian to the Luna’s place, the bond between us was worn away, little by little, by your own hands.”
I stood, left money for the coffee on the table, and turned toward the door.
“I’m not going back. This isn’t me punishing you. It’s that I already have a new life, and I am not willing to be dragged back into the old one.”
Behind me, the children were crying so hard they could barely catch their breath.
I pushed open the door without looking back.
Across the street, Elias was waiting with Chloe.
The moment she saw me, she came running.
“Did they bully you?”
“No.” I lifted her into my arms. “Let’s go home.”
Elias rested a light arm around my shoulders. He never asked what had been said.
Deep in my mind, Ember was still.
This stillness was no longer the silence that comes after being hurt.
It was the old claim, finally losing every last echo inside me.