Page 148 of When the Storm Breaks
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
Chapter 48
Haiyden
I watch her take another slow step back—the kind that saysdon’t follow.
And I know.
“You should hate me,” I say, voice rough with regret.
But it’s done. And I can’t take it back.
She stares at me frozen—confused and terrified. The glow drains from her face, leaving her pale in the bedroom light.
“What are you talking about, Haiyden?” she asks slowly, each word landing like it’s been chosen carefully.
Like she already knows what comes next is going to break her.
I force the word out.
“Jules.”
She flinches like I hit her.
Her whole body goes rigid. Spine straight. Fingers twitching at her sides like she’s searching for something to hold on to—but there’s nothing.
“Iknow what happened.”
I watch the shift happen in real time.
Her world cracks right down the middle, and I can’t catch the pieces fast enough.
Anger.
Disbelief.
Devastation.
Her face contorts with every flicker of emotion, but she doesn’t speak. Just stands there, breathing fast, like her lungs can’t catch up.
She tries to hold it in, to keep it together—but her hand moves, fingers pressing into her thigh like if she pinches hard enough, she’ll wake up from a nightmare.
And when she realizes she’s awake, that she knows it’s real—
“No. No, no, no.”
She shakes her head, frantic. Her eyes go wide, lit with something that looks a hell of a lot like fear.
“You…” Her eyes dart, like her brain is trying to fill in the blanks. “It was… you?”
The words come out like a gasp. Like she doesn’t even know what she’s asking.
“God, no, Calla.” My voice breaks. “I could never do that.”
She takes another step back, like the air between us might burn her. Her arms wrap around her body, hands gripping her elbows like she’s holding herself together by force.
“But you could lie to me?”
