?Chapter 316:

“But he’s not,” I whispered, my heart pounding. “And you didn’t tell me.”

The silence that followed was deafening, the weight of it pressing down on my chest.

And in that moment, I realized something.

The man I thought I knew?

I didn’t know him at all.

Ryder’s pov

The moment I walked into the room and saw Jasmine standing there, looking at him, my heart skipped.

Aiden.

He shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t be anywhere. He was supposed to be dead. Gone. Another ghost I’d locked away in the corner of my mind, buried under guilt and regret. But now he was standing in front of Jasmine, wearing my face, twisting my life into his weapon.

And Jasmine? My Jasmine, with her fire and sharp edges, looked like she was caught between fury and betrayal. The hurt in her eyes cut deeper than any de ever could.

The way she looked at him—then at me—like she couldn’t tell who to trust? Fuck, it gutted me.

I couldn’t focus on that. Not yet.

“Get away from him,” I snarled, stepping into the room, my body coiled like a spring.

She blinked at me, her brows pulling together. “Why are there two of you? What is this?”

I wanted to exin, but how the hell do I exin this? That the man she thought she knew had a brother he never told her about. A brother I thought was dead.

Aiden smirked, his grin dripping with anger. Not like I care.

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“Didn’t tell her, did you?” he said, his voice a near-perfect match to mine, except for the venom coiling through it.

Aiden is alive, true to Isabelle’s word. And he’s staring at me, about to ruin it all. Ace wasn’t having it. But at this point, only the moon goddess can help me out.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” I growled, moving fast and shoving Jasmine behind me before Aiden could take another step closer.

“Ryder,” she hissed, tugging at the back of my shirt. “What the hell is going on? Exin. Now.”

Not yet. Not with Aiden here, feeding on her confusion like it was fuel.

Aiden wasn’t done. Of course, he wasn’t.

“Hello, brother,” he said, his tone mockingly sweet.

I stiffened. That word—brother—felt like acid on my skin.

“Stay behind me,” I said to Jasmine, my voice tight.

“No,” she snapped, stepping out from behind me before I could stop her. “I’m not staying anywhere until someone exins what the fuck is going on!”

Goddammit, Jasmine.

Aiden’s grin widened. “She doesn’t know, does she?” he said, his voice low and sharp. “About me. About what you did.”

I clenched my fists, trying to hold back the storm raging inside me. Ace was pacing, his growls vibrating through my skull. Rip his throat out, he snarled. End this before it starts.

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