Chapter 170 You Want to Reject Me?
Emilia’s POV
The neon lights of Silverlake City blurred around me as I stood in the middle of the intersection, my heart slamming against my ribs. The light glared red.
"Get out of the way!" someone screamed from a car window.
"Move it, you crazy bitch!"
I didn’t move. Couldn’t move. This was my last card, and I was all in.
An SUV roared forward, headlights blazing. My breath caught. For a second I wondered if I’d gotten it wrong, if Sebastian really would let me...
Then the world tilted.
Strong arms yanked me back, my body slamming into a solid chest. I looked up, searching those green eyes for warmth.
There was nothing. Just ice.
"If you want to die," Sebastian snarled, low and lethal, "don’t do it in front of me."
He shoved me aside like I was trash. I caught myself, and before he could blink, I was walking back toward the road.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" His Alpha command cracked through the air, and nearby humans flinched without knowing why.
I kept walking.
"There are plenty of ways to die, Emilia. Why the hell here?"
I stopped and turned to face him. "Because I like doing things that get your attention. Clearly, talking isn’t cutting it."
His eyes flashed. "You..."
Another car sped through. I stepped forward.
Sebastian cursed and grabbed me, pulling me back so hard we both went flying. We hit the asphalt and rolled. Pain shot through my shoulder, but all I could focus on was the red soaking through his sleeve.
Blood.
His blood.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEP!"
Horns blared behind us. A traffic jam was forming, cars piling up.
"Take your domestic drama somewhere else!"
"Jump off a bridge if you wanna die!"
"Some of us have places to be!"
The shouting grew louder, angrier. But then Sebastian stood, and even without knowing what he was, they felt it.
The air shifted. Went heavy.
His Alpha aura rolled out over the street, and the shouting stopped. Drivers shrank back into their cars. The loudest ones went pale and quiet, hands shaking on the wheel.
Sebastian’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried. "Shut. Up."
Silence. Complete, terrified silence.
He grabbed my wrist, not gently, and dragged me to his car. Shoved me into the back seat and slammed the door. The engine roared, and we were moving.
The city lights blurred past. I watched his reflection in the mirror, his jaw clenched so tight it looked like it hurt. His knuckles were white on the wheel.
We drove in silence for what felt like hours. When we stopped, I knew where we were.
The beach. Our beach.
Where we’d watched the stars together. Where I’d felt, for a moment, like this marriage could become something real.
Sebastian got out, yanked open my door, and hauled me onto the sand. I landed hard, sand scraping my palms.
"Remember this," he said, his voice colder than the wind off the ocean. "Don’t show up in front of me again."
I pushed myself up. "So that’s it? You’re just going to reject me?"
The word hung between us. In the human world, it was divorce. But we both knew what it really meant. Rejection. The breaking of the mate bond.
Sebastian laughed, sharp and bitter. "Do you really think this marriage still has a point?"
"I won’t accept your rejection." My voice shook, but I forced it out. "You know I won’t."
"Then enjoy being alone." He shrugged and turned away. "No one’s stopping you from playing the devoted wife to an empty house."
"Does it have to be this cruel?" The question burst out of me. "If I apologize again, if I explain everything calmly, will you just listen?"
He looked back, and the contempt in his eyes hurt worse than anything he could’ve said. "No. I don’t want apologies from a liar. Because even when you say the words, all I hear is more lies."
He walked toward his car. Just... walked away.
Panic rose in my throat. I ran forward and planted myself in front of the driver’s door. "If you really want to leave, you’ll have to run me over first."
Sebastian was out of the car in a second. His hand closed around my throat, not squeezing, but the threat was clear, and he pressed me back against the cold metal.
"Emilia." His face was inches from mine. "I gave you chances. So many chances to explain, to make this right. I even told you I wanted to forgive you. But you threw every one away. So don’t stand here begging with no dignity left. I’m done listening."
He let go, and I slid to the sand, gasping. The engine started. Taillights flared red in the dark.
And then he was gone.
I stared at the empty road, my vision blurring. Then I did the only thing my body would let me do.
I ran.
Along the coastline, feet pounding the sand, lungs burning, tears streaming. I ran until my legs gave out and I collapsed onto the beach.
The stars were out. Just like that night.
"Emilia..." Eve’s voice was soft, worried.
"I’m fine," I lied, staring up at the dark sky. Tears slid down my temples into my hair. "I just... How much more do I have to do? How many times do I have to fail before there’s even a glimpse of hope?"
"I don’t know," Eve said. "But drowning in the dark won’t help us find it."
I closed my eyes. The sea breeze was as cold as Sebastian’s eyes had been.
By the time I dragged myself home, I could already feel it. Exhaustion deep in my bones, a chill that had nothing to do with the weather.
I collapsed into bed and didn’t get up for two days.
The fever came first, then the body aches. I hadn’t been eating or sleeping. My wolf was strong, but even Eve couldn’t fix the damage I’d done to myself.
"You need to rest," she said. "Actually rest. Not just lie here replaying every mistake on a loop."
"Can’t help it," I mumbled into my pillow. "It’s my favorite show."
When Lily showed up, she took one look at me and lost it.
"I TOLD YOU!" She paced beside my bed, waving her arms. "I told you not to tell him everything, but no, Emilia has to be honest. And now look at you! Did Sebastian even forgive you? Does he care that you’re literally dying?"
"I’m not dying."
"You look like death’s intern."
Despite everything, I almost smiled. "I couldn’t hide it forever, Lily. He would’ve found out eventually."
"How did he find out, anyway?"
"Does it matter?" I closed my eyes. "The point is, he knows."
"And he’s set on not forgiving you?"
"Yeah."
Lily sat on the edge of my bed, her anger melting into worry. "Then screw him. He’s not the only Alpha in the world. Scott Hanson asked about you this morning..."