Elena’s POV
The words left my mouth and the knife pressed against my wrist. My hand didn’t shake. I wasn’t bluffing. The pain in my chest had swollen into something monstrous, something that clawed at my lungs and made every breath feel like broken glasses.
If this was the only way to make him let me go, then I would do it. I couldn’t marry my half-brother. I couldn’t live like this anymore, trapped in a lie that tainted every memory, every touch, every whispered promise.
“Elena… no,” Damien whispered, his voice cracking. He took one careful step forward, hands raised in surrender.
“Put the knife down. Please. Don’t do this. I can’t lose you. Not like this. Not ever. We can fix this… I swear it.”
Sofia stood right beside me, her body tense, her hand trembling as she reached out but st
