Page 270 of Untamed

Not a girl running from the only man she’s ever loved.

I glance back at the bedroom one last time. The bed’s still unmade, the scent of him, of us, clinging to the sheets like a ghost. A slow, uneven breath leaves me as the weight of everything we shared in this room crashes over me. My emotions unravel, the dam explodes and everything I’ve been keeping inside surges out of me. I choke on the sob that’s been growing in my chest. And when my knees buckle, I press my back to the door, and cry into the silence.

Come on, Jordyn. You’re doing this for him. You can fall apart later.

Using the sleeves on the hoodie, I wipe away the tears and crack the bedroom door open and make my way to the front door.

The guards are still posted outside. Watching like hawks. But they don’t look suspicious.

One of them turns to look at me when I step outside. “I just need to grab a few things from the manor,” I say, casually.

One of them offers to escort me. I smile and shake my head. “It’s fine. I won’t be long.”

And then I’m walking.

Across gravel. Past olive trees. Toward the house that feels more like a mausoleum than a home. It’s still early, just gone five in the morning. The manor is still when I slip through the door, wrapped in silence and the faint blue hush of dawn. No creaking floorboards. No movement upstairs. Everyone’s still asleep. Good. The staff aren’t up yet.

I move quietly through the corridor, heart pounding so hard it feels like it might echo off the walls. Up the stairs, down the hall, back to my room. The door closes behind me with a soft click.

I don’t turn on the light. I move by instinct.

The backpack I stashed in the closet is already half-packed. I throw in what I need, cash, the envelope, my charger, a change of clothes. My fingers tremble, but I keep going. Quick, focused. Almost mechanical.

I don’t hear the door open until it’s too late. The floorboard creaks just outside the door, then, “Jordyn?”

I freeze.

Bianca steps into the room, bleary-eyed in her oversized sleep shirt, hair pulled up in a messy bun. She doesn’t say anything atfirst. Her eyes flick from the bag on the bed to my shoes, then finally to my face.

She doesn’t look surprised. Only awake now.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is low; a whisper made for the quiet.

“What I should have done a long time ago. I’m leaving.”

She doesn’t ask why, only releases a sigh of relief.

Instead, she steps further into the room and gently closes the door behind her. “Thank God,” she says softly. “I knew you’d come to your senses.”

I stare at her. “You did?”

She nods, eyes softer than I’ve seen in a while. “Yes, I did. You’ve been holding your breath since the day you met him. And now… now you’re finally doing what your heart’s been begging you to do.”

I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off gently. “You love him,” she says, stepping closer. “And when you love someone like that, really love them, you’d rather lose them than watch them get torn apart because of you. You’re doing the right thing, Jord.”

I swallow. My throat’s tight. “It doesn’t feel like it.” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks. “It feels like I’m abandoning him when he needs me the most, but I can’t just let him walk into a war and get killed because of me, Bee. I can’t.” I whimper. Bianca moves in, she pulls me into her arms and I cry. “I know, babe. I know.” Bianca says soothingly, “It hurts like hell, and it doesn’t feel like it right now, but you’re doing the right thing for both of you. Deep down you know that this war wasn’t going toend in his favour. Theres an army of enemies out there thirsty for his blood...and the only way they know they can hurt him is through you. Which is why you need to go.”

“He’s going to come after me.”

“Maybe he will,” she replies. “Or maybe with you gone he will finally do what needs to be done and marry Giana.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. The weight of it all threatens to crush me, but I force the words out anyway. “He won’t marry her.” I tell her. “I begged him last night to marry her and end the war but he out right refused. Said he would rather die than be with someone that’s not me.”

Bianca doesn’t say anything, just watches me with a saddened look on her face. “It’s not just about protecting him anymore.”

She frowns, brows pulling tight. “What?”

I chew on my lip, “I’m pregnant.”

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