Page 55 of His Dark Cravings

My stomach twists at the way he says it. I feel like a stone is dropping into my stomach. I turn to him, my eyes searching his face for answers.

“What are you talking about?” I demand, though my voice feels small compared to the casino’s noise.

“He knew,” Xavier says simply. “He knew when he ran up that debt, when he came to me for help, that you’d be the one to bail him out. He counted on it. Because he knows you, Everly. He knows how to play you.”

I feel the room tilt around me, the bright lights blurring at the edges of my vision. I look at Talon, really look at him, and for the first time, I see him—not the brother I’ve always tried to protect, but the boy who’s been using me all along.

“You knew,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “You knew I’d come for you, and you... you let me.”

Talon’s eyes dart between Xavier and me, his expression shifting from defiance to guilt and back again. But he doesn’t deny it. He can’t.

Because it’s true.

Xavier’s hand rests on the small of my back, a fleeting touch that grounds me in the storm of emotions tearing through me.

“This is the kind of person you've been fighting for,” he continues, his voice steady. “Someone who would willingly use you as a shield without thinking twice.”

I feel my heart shattering, so painful that I clutch my chest. It’s the truth that hurts the most. I see it now, plainly, the way Talon’s always played on my guilt, my love, my desire to save him. And I let him. I always let him.

But standing here, something inside me shifts. I see Talon not as my brother, but as a stranger. A stranger who’s been lying to me, using me, betraying me in the worst possible way.

And in that moment, I hate him.

Talon’s voice spikes, defensive and sharp, forming words I've heard before. But I don’t let him finish.

“No more, Talon. Just... no more.”

I turn on my heel, the world blurring as tears burn my eyes. I hear him call out, his voice piercing through the crowded room, but I don’t look back. If I do, I’ll see the same excuses, the same charm, the same lies. My heart clenches, a sharp, painful ache that threatens to double me over.

I weave through the swarm of people, my legs trembling beneath me. The noise of the casino fades into a distant roar. All I can hear is Talon’s voice, chasing after me.

“Everly, wait! I swear I’ll stop! I’ll fix this, I promise!”

I don’t believe him. I can’t afford to.

I push through the heavy doors of the casino, the cool night air slapping me in the face like a wake-up call. Tears stream down my cheeks, hot and relentless, and I angrily wipe them away with the back of my hand. My breath catches, a jagged sound that feels like it’s tearing my throat raw.

I start walking toward Xavier's car. The city is alive around me, but I feel disconnected from it all, like I’m living in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.

Talon’s footsteps echo behind me, closing in. “Everly, please! You’re being unreasonable! I said I’d stop!”

I spin around, blinking tears away. “Unreasonable? You think I’m the one being unreasonable? You’ve lied to me, Talon. Over and over and over. You’ve used me, manipulated me, and I’ve let you. But not anymore. This is it. This is the last time I clean up your mess. The last time I let you hurt me.”

His face twists. “You’re really going to walk away? Just like that?”

“Yes,” I say. “Just like that.”

I turn and keep walking, leaving him standing there. This is the last time Talon Fields breaks my heart. The last time I let him make me cry. The last time I clean up his mess.

Whatever happens next, I won’t be there to fix it.

* * *

I slam my bedroom door behind me and let my room swallow me whole. I collapse onto the bed, the plush pillows muffling my sobs. Tears gutter down my cheeks, soaking the silk pillowcase beneath me. My body shakes, each convulsion wringing out another wave of pain. The betrayal cuts so deep, it feels like I’m bleeding from the inside out.

The door creaks open. I don’t turn, don’t care who it is. I don’t want to be seen like this—broken, shattered, a mess. But the footsteps are light, and they don’t leave. Instead, they stop beside the bed.

I hear the soft rustle of fabric as someone sits down. A cool, steady presence, like the stillness after a storm. The mattress shifts under their weight but doesn’t dip much. Winter. Her scent is faint, crisp and clean.

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