Page 120 of F*ckboys

My hands shake as I pace the dimly lit room. Griffin isn't guilty of the atrocities Brynn claimed. It was all in her mind, andseems to be an elaborate scam to get him killed so she can take the insurance money and run off with her newfound beau. She's been manipulating me, using my thirst for revenge to get what she wants. A big fat undeserved paycheck.

I sigh and shake my head. How could I have been so stupid? All the signs were there, but I was too blinded by anger to see through her lies. Buying into her story like a gullible minion.

My hands clench into fists, fingernails biting into my palms. I should never have doubted Grave. We were played, both of us, in Brynn's twisted game, although he saw the signs well before I did.

The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. I wanted vengeance so badly, I didn't care who suffered. I would have killed Griffin based on Brynn's lies and doctored evidence, all to satisfy my personal thirst for revenge. It was only Grave's insistence we trust but verify that resulted in me seeing the truth before it was too late.

Shit. What have I become? So ready to exact revenge. So ready to kill.

I drop my head in my hands, overcome by the gravity of it all. The foundation of my convictions has crumbled into dust. I don't know what's right or wrong anymore, who's guilty or innocent.

All I know is that I can't continue down this path. The darkness has consumed me, and I'm losing myself in the quest for revenge.

Life has turned me into a monster, but I let it. I embraced the darkness willingly.

I slump down in my chair, at a crossroads, torn between the truth and lies, justice and vengeance. The path ahead is shrouded in shadows, but I know one thing for sure—I have to stop this. Before it's too late.

My fingers tremble as I reach for my phone. There's only one thing left to do.

Grave answers on the second ring. "Fallon." His voice is rough, wary. I don't blame him. After all I've put him through recently...

"We need to talk." The words stick in my throat, but I force them out. "I know the truth. About Brynn. About the evidence."

A sharp intake of breath. "What?"

"It was doctored. Manipulated. Brynn set us up, tried to play us. Tried to get us to—" I swallow hard. "I'm so sorry, Grave. For everything."

Silence. Then, "Fallon, I don't understand. How did you—"

"It doesn't matter." I cut him off, the ache in my chest intensifying. "You have to believe me. Brynn has been pulling the strings this whole time. I was blinded by vengeance, but now I see the truth. She was trying to get insurance money to fund her affair, and get rid of her husband in the process. He doesn't seem like a very good man by any means, but there's no evidence of him doing the most terrible things she claims."

"I don't know what to say." Grave's voice softens, the wariness fading. "After everything that's happened, why should I not assume you're going to want to murder the next alleged betrayer? Do you get how serious this is? We almost murdered an innocent man, Fall…"

"Because..." My eyes sting. "Because you once trusted me. And I'm asking you to believe in me, just this once. Please, Grave." I take a shaky breath. "End this madness with me. It's gone too far."

Another stretch of silence. Then, "Okay."

Relief washes over me in a dizzying wave. "Okay?"

"I believe you." Grave lets out a harsh breath. "May the universe help me, but I do."

Tears spill down my cheeks as a sob rises in my throat. We were broken, shattered into a million pieces, but maybe now we can start to heal.

Maybe this is one relationship I can actually salvage.

"It's over," I whisper. "This ends now."

No more lies. No more vengeance. No more darkness.

As the hours go by and I dig further into Brynn's web of deception, the revelation hits me like a punch to the gut.

I was this close to murdering Griffin, to obliterating any chance of happiness in my life. How could I have been so blind? So hellbent on vengeance that I ignored the truth staring me in the face?

Shame and self-loathing rise in a bitter wave, threatening to drown me. I screwed up, almost past the point of no return, and now the knowledge of what I almost did will haunt me forever.

But Grave forgave me. Just like that. Against all odds, he chose to believe in me. To help me end this madness and find our way back to the light.

I cling to that lifeline as my doubts and regrets intensify, shredding my fragile hopes. How can he ever trust me again after everything I've done? I turned on him and was ready to kill a man to satisfy my quest for revenge.

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