Page 57 of Redeeming His Omega Mate

I sucked in a sharp breath, my hands pressing against my chest. “We had our time, Damian,” I whispered. “Seven years ago. It’s over now.”

“Then we’ll start over,” he said, stepping closer. His voice was steady, determined. “I refuse to believe our time has passed, Tala. I…I can’t accept that.”

A single tear slipped down my cheek. “But you made that choice for us.”

“And it was the worst decision of my life.” He let out a breath, raking a hand through his hair. “For seven years, I’ve tried to convince myself that letting you go was the right thing to do, the only thing. But no matter how hard, all I feel is regret, knowing I could have done better.” His gaze locked onto mine. “I wish I could change everything.”

Damian’s words took my mind back to that awful night. I hadn’t thought about that night in a long while.

“Tala—” He started toward me again, but I kept my arm up to maintain the distance between us.

“Why?” I asked, my voice strained. “How can I trust anything you say after you’d suddenly cast me away like I meant nothing to you?”

“I had to let you go to protect you, Tala.”

A humorless laugh escaped my lips, “Protect me?” My voice was barely above a whisper. “You call ripping my heart out protection?”

“My father would have killed you if he knew who you really were, who you are,” Damian said.

My brows knitted in confusion.

Noticing this, he exhaled sharply as if the memory itself was a weight he despised carrying, then continued. “When I returned from my Alpha training, Grayson told me about the atrocities my father had committed. I didn’t want to believe that my father was capable of not just murder but mass murder. So, I started digging.”

I said nothing, listening as he spoke.

“The day we met, the night at the bar, I was there to meet a former Beta guard. A man who barely survived the war. He told me my father ordered his men to kill any child they saw between the ages of three and six.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “At first, I thought it was oddly specific. So, I kept investigating, trying to understand why.”

“That’s when I learned he was targeting the Lunaris Custodes bloodline.” Damian’s voice hardened. “I overheard him talking to his advisor about it. I didn’t understand why my father was so determined to erase them. So, I kept searching for answers.”

“I found out the Lunaris Custodes bore a mark. And the moment I read that, I knew.” He pursed his lips. “I had seen that mark before. On you. The first time we slept together. But I didn’t realize what it meant until the day of the Centenary Celebration.”

Everything inside me went still. My lips parted, but no words came out. There was a mark near my left breast. I had always thought it was just a birthmark and nothing more. Aria had the same one, too, just below her waist.

Damian dragged a hand through his hair, his expression tight. “The moment I realized my father hadn’t succeeded in wiping out your bloodline completely, that you were still alive…” He hesitated, shaking his head. “I knew if he ever found out, he’d try again.”

“I had to take his attention off you, Tala.” Damian’s voice was raw and heavy with regret. “I thought if I let you go, he’d never find out the truth. I thought I was keeping you safe.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “But I was wrong. I should have fought for you. I should have…” His voice faltered. “I should have protected you the right way.”

I let out a trembling exhale as my fingers tightened around the stone railing of the fountain, grounding me.

For years, I had believed Damian never truly loved me, that everything he’d done was nothing more than a calculated move to sway me before he discarded me. But now, the truth stared me in the face. And it didn’t make the pain any less suffocating.

“You let me believe I wasn’t enough,” I whispered, my throat tight. “You let me suffer, Damian. You let me hate myself.”

His face twisted in anguish. “Tala—”

“Seven years!” My voice rose, shaking with emotion. “Seven years,Damian. Do you have any idea what that did to me? To think I was worthless to you?” My vision blurred with unshed tears. “To believe that I wasn’t good enough for you.”

Damian stiffened, like my words had struck him, but I didn’t stop. I was expelling the rage that had built up over the years, spilling the thoughts that had kept me awake almost every night for the past seven years.

“The words you said to me that night played over and over again in my head like a goddamn horror song, unraveling every bit of the life I was trying to build for myself.” I pressed my trembling lips together, my chest tightening.

“I don’t feel better, Damian,” I choked out. “Knowing you rejected me to protect me doesn’t make it hurt any less. You didn’t save me. You destroyed me.”

The silence between us was heavy. His shoulders sagged, his hands loosening at his sides. I could see the regret in his eyes, the guilt carved into every tense line of his body.

But it didn’t erase the past. It didn’t take away the years of pain.

A sharp cry cut through the air, and I turned just as Serena stumbled into the garden, clutching her dress in her hands. Her face was streaked with tears. She looked at Damian first, her eyes wide and raw with hurt. Then her gaze found me.

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