Page 154 of Knot Happening Again

Oh shit.

"What?" Ophelia asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rhys takes a deep breath. "Leon could... complete the mark."

The words land like a bomb in the room.

Ophelia's eyes widen, shock written across her features as she turns to look at Leon.

Leon's face is a mask of guilt and regret. He takes a step forward, hands raised as if to ward off the very idea. “Ophelia, I understand if you don't want that. I don't deserve to completeit, not after what I did to you. I don’t even deserve for you to breathe the same air as me.”

I hold my breath, waiting for Ophelia's reaction. Part of me wants to jump in, to assure her that we'll find another way, that she doesn't have to do this.

But I bite my tongue.

This has to be her choice.

Ophelia's gaze is fixed on Leon, her expression unreadable. The silence stretches on, thick and heavy. I can feel the tension radiating off the others. Troy's barely contained nervous energy, Rhys's concern, Leon's palpable guilt.

And then, Ophelia speaks.

“Okay.”

The word is so soft, I almost think I've imagined it. But the shocked expressions on everyone else's faces confirm that they heard it too.

"What?" Leon chokes out, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Ophelia swallows hard, her gaze never leaving Leon's face. "I want to complete the mark."

Holy shit.

I feel like the ground has shifted beneath my feet.

After everything that's happened, after all the pain and anger and resentment, I never thought I'd hear those words from Ophelia's lips.

And judging from the look on Leon's face, I'm not the only one.

CHAPTER 42

OPHELIA

"You're not thinking clearly," Leon says, his voice low and urgent.

Oh, hell, no.

He didnotjust say that.

I clench my fists, nails digging into my palms. "Don't tell me what I'm thinking," I snap, my energy rallying now that he’s managed to piss me off again. "You have no idea what I've been through because of this half-mark."

His eyes widen, a flash of guilt crossing his face.

Good.

Heshouldfeel guilty.

"Ophelia, I?—"

“No,” I cut him off. My voice is coming back to me in a rush. “Don’t say another word. You want to know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking about the years I've spent in agony because of this… this fucking half mark. The nights I've writhed in pain, begging for relief that never came. You havenoidea what you’ve put me through, and you’re not about to make yet another decision for me.”

---