Page 91 of Lords of Ruin: Savage

“Yes,mi amor.” Cast’s voice is quiet now, resigned. Like he already knows what I’m going to do before I do. Like he’s made peace with it.

I squeeze my eyes shut. My chest is tight, my heart hammering so fast I feel like I might pass out. My whole body feels weightless, untethered, like I’m on the edge of something irreversible.

“So if I call—” My voice cracks.

“He will be right there.”

Damien. Ten minutes away. So close I could reach out and touch him if I wanted. If Ichoseto.

I let out a shaky exhale. “I don’t know what to do, Cast.”

Silence. Then, his voice dips lower. Rougher. “Do you love him?”

I freeze. “Who?”

“Vincent,” he bites out, and I canhearthe tension in his voice, the barely contained fury, the raw, unfiltered emotion clawing its way out of him.

I swallow hard. “Yes.”

There’s a sharp inhale. A slow exhale. I imagine the whites of his knuckles as he grips the phone, the muscle ticking in his jaw.

“Then you can’t leave him at the altar,Cariña.” His voice softens, but the weight of his words feels heavier.Final.“You will break his heart.”

My throat tightens. “Cast?—”

“No.” His voice is a razor’s edge, cutting straight through me. “You made your bed. Now lie in it.”

Tears burn my eyes. “I love you, too. I can’t do this if marrying him breaks your heart, too.”

“You can only marry one person.”

I shake my head even though he can’t see me, my hands trembling around the phone. “That doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

A humorless chuckle. It’s low, rough, almost bitter. “I know.”

I can barely breathe. “So what do I do?”

Cast is silent for a moment, then he sighs, and there’s something in his voice that sounds like defeat. Like surrender. “Go beMrs. Beaumont.” A sharp, painful crack splits through my chest. “Because you can never beMrs. Castillo.”

I let out a soft, broken sound, but before I can say anything else, the line goes dead. The pain in my chest burns like a brand. I feel hollow, lost, like I’m standing on the edge of something I can’t control.

A knock at the door makes me jump.

“Willow?” Jasmine’s voice is soft but firm, like she’s been waiting for me to come out. “I know you’re in there.”

I don’t answer.

Another knock. This time, she’s more insistent. “Willow, come on. You can’t stay in there forever.”

I press the heels of my hands to my eyes, willing myself not to cry. My throat is tight, my heart so full of conflicting emotions I can barely breathe.

“I don’t want to talk right now,” I finally manage to say, my voice barely a whisper.

“Too bad,” Jasmine’s voice comes through, teasing but with a note of concern. “Because I’m coming in.”

The door creaks open, and there she is, standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. She raises an eyebrow at me, her eyes sharp, but there’s a softness to them now. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

I don’t look at her. I can’t. My hands are shaking. I can’t even look at the phone in my hand anymore.

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