CHAPTER 268: MY DECISION

Draven.

"Do you want to hear it? I think you will love it," I repeated softly, watching the way her throat worked as she swallowed.

Wanda’s lips parted, but no sound came. She hesitated too long, and that was answer enough.

A humorless smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "You don’t," I said. "But I will tell you anyway."

I stepped closer, slow and deliberate, until the scent of her nervous sweat cut through the cloying perfume she always wore. My gaze never left hers.

"I know about the night you went behind my back. The night you thought you could meddle with my affairs and betray my trust."

Her eyes flickered. That was a crack in her composure.

"Stormveil has a way of keeping secrets... until someone pries them open," I continued, voice low, even. "I heard things, Wanda. I know what you did."

She finally broke eye contact, her gaze dropping to the floor for just a heartbeat, but that was all it took. Guilt written in silence.

"Do you know what I despise most?" I asked her. "It isn’t disobedience. It isn’t even failure. It’s betrayal. And yours was as deliberate as it was cowardly."

Her lips trembled slightly before she firmed them. "Draven... you don’t understand—"

"I understand enough." My voice sharpened, cutting across hers like steel. "You made me look a fool, and worse, you gambled with something that was never yours to touch."

Her breathing was uneven now. Fear rolled off her in waves, though she fought to hold her ground. I almost admired her attempt at dignity. Almost.

I leaned back just enough to give her space, but my eyes stayed locked on hers. "So no, Wanda. I don’t need your permission. I don’t need your approval. And I damn sure don’t need to protect your pride when you’ve already sold your loyalty cheap."

Her face drained of color. Then her lips parted, trembling slightly before she steadied them. Her voice, when it came, was softer than I expected, almost pleading.

"Draven, listen... I had no choice. My father kept pressing me for information, and I... I gave in. I only told him what I thought harmless."

My jaw tightened. Harmless? That word was simply betrayal wrapped in pretty words.

I stepped closer, the weight of my presence pushing against her thin veneer of courage. "Your apology doesn’t matter, Wanda. It changes nothing. You gave away what was mine to protect, and in doing so, you proved exactly where your loyalty lies. Not with me."

She flinched as though the words struck her across the face.

But there was still one thing gnawing at me, a detail that made my blood burn hotter.

"Tell me something," I said, my voice dropping lower, harder. "How did you even find out about my plans for Meredith? I never shared that with you."

Wanda froze. Her eyes darted away for the briefest moment, but she stayed silent.

"Answer me." My tone brooked no refusal. The command rang sharp in the air, heavy with authority.

Her breath hitched. Then at last, she whispered, "I overheard you. Months ago. Here in this study. You were speaking to Dennis... about using Meredith as a pawn. I didn’t mean to hear it, but I did."

The revelation made my chest go still for a heartbeat. ’So she’d known all this time.’

Had I still clung to that old resolve—had I still seen Meredith as nothing but a piece on my board—Wanda would have ruined it all. She would have given my enemies the perfect weapon to shatter me. Her father, the council. Everyone.

A fury unlike any other coursed through me, white-hot and unrelenting. I no longer saw the woman who had served in my house for years, nor the ’friend’ she once pretended to be.

I saw only a snake that had slithered too close to my hearth.

I leveled my gaze at her, unblinking, sharp as a blade.

"You betrayed me once," I said, voice low, deadly calm. "But worse—you made it clear you would do it again, if pressed."

Her lips quivered. "Draven—please, I didn’t mean—"

"You meant enough." My final words were delivered like judgment carved into stone. "You’re leaving tomorrow."

Shock rippled across her face. For a moment she just stared, as though she hadn’t truly heard me.

Then her eyes widened, her chest heaving in disbelief.

"W-what? You... you’re sending me away?"

I didn’t blink. "Pack your things tonight. Beatrice is here now. Your services are no longer required."

The color drained from her face completely. Her mouth opened again, trembling on the edge of another plea, but I’d already turned my heart away. Her voice was nothing to me now.

In my heart, the vow was sealed: I would never forgive this.

Wanda’s lips trembled, but instead of lashing out, she sank to her knees before me. Her pride shattered like glass on stone.

"Draven," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Please. I swear I will never repeat this mistake again. Test me—send me through fire if you must. You will see, I will never betray you again."

I looked down at her, my expression carved from iron. Inwardly, there was no flicker of pity. Not after what she had done.

"You’ve already proven where your loyalty lies," I said, each word deliberate, sharp. "And it isn’t with me. Go back to your father. That’s where you belong."

Her shoulders shook. A single tear slid down her cheek, catching the morning light filtering in through the window.

For a fleeting second, she looked more like a child than the sharp-tongued woman who once thought herself untouchable. But I didn’t waver.

Even as she knelt, begging, my voice carried through the mind-link. "Dennis, you and Jeffery should come to my study now."

Neither of them questioned it. I felt their acknowledgment, and within moments, a firm knock echoed against the heavy door.

"Enter," I commanded.

The door swung open. Dennis and Jeffery stepped inside, their gazes instinctively going to the kneeling figure at my feet.

Wanda scrambled up at once, hastily wiping at her tears, her composure barely stitched together.

Confusion flickered across both of their faces, though they masked it quickly.

I folded my hands behind my back and met their eyes. "There’s something you both need to know."