Page 96 of Unseen Eye
I follow Theo and Izzy out the front door, each step feeling heavier than the last, my legs threatening to give out beneath me. Cal trails behind, his silence like a shadow at my back.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Izzy says, shutting the door behind us. Her voice is a forced brightness, like she’s trying to puncture the weight hanging over us. “Where’s the bar? I need a drink.”
“Are you okay?” Theo’s arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me close, his face etched with worry.
I force a smile, trying to play off the tremor in my hands. “I’d like to think I’d be a pro at this by now.” A hollow laugh escapes me. “At this rate, I’m going to be an expert in family secrets and buried truths.”
Theo chuckles softly, but the concern doesn’t leave his eyes. “You’re handling this better than most would.”
“It’s all about keeping a sense of humor,” I say, but inside, I feel like I’m crumbling. And then, my gaze drifts back to Cal—standing apart from us, leaning against the rocks, eyes fixed on the ground as if it holds answers. His silence is louder than anyof our voices, and something about it feels… off.
Cleary’s words circle back to me, his mention of my necklace. My hand instinctively finds it, fingers tracing the familiar shape. “You met her, didn’t you, Cal? Did you ever see it on her?”
The words spill out of me, a cascade of questions tumbling over each other, desperate to make sense of the pieces. “I’m willing to bet Baron did. He was mesmerized by it the first time he saw it. Maybe that’s why he wanted me to marry Garet.” The realization sinks in, but the truth—his silence—hits harder.
I turn to him, catching his gaze. He doesn’t look away this time, but his face is unreadable, a mask I’ve never seen before. Theo and Izzy fall silent, their eyes flicking back and forth between us, questions on the tips of their tongues.
I stare at him. He stares back.
My heart pounds, a frantic rhythm that drowns out every rational thought. Please don’t know. Please don’t know, I silently beg. But the longer he stands there, quiet, his face hardening, the more certain I become. He doesn’t need to say anything.
I already know.
He knew.
A tense silence settles over us, thick and oppressive, pressing down on every word left unsaid. Cal’s jaw clenches, his eyes filled with a storm of emotions, but still, he says nothing.
“Cal,” I whisper, my voice cracking, raw with disbelief and betrayal. “You knew, didn’t you?”
He hesitates, and in that single pause, the truth crashes over me, jagged and unforgiving. “Yes,” he finally admits, barely a whisper, the weight of his guilt spilling out in that single word.
Beside me, Izzy’s eyes widen, her mouth falling open. “You knew and didn’t say anything?” Her voice trembles with the same disbelief coiling in my chest.
I take a step back, the full weight of his confession slamming into me. The one person I thought I could trust—the one whopromised he had my back—kept this from me. My heart twists, a pain sharper than any wound.
“Eva,” Theo murmurs gently, his arm steady around me. But his soft words do nothing to stop the storm churning inside me. All I can see is Cal—the memories of his smile, the comfort he once offered me—and now it all feels like a lie.
“Why?” My voice rises, cutting through the silence like a blade. “Why didn’t you tell me? Do you have any idea how many nights I spent wondering, wishing for something, anything?” My throat tightens, my pulse thundering in my ears, but I force the words out, each one dripping with venom. “You knew, and you said nothing? You’re no better than Garet or Baron, keeping your fucking secrets. You knew how much this meant to me, and still, you kept me in the dark.”
Cal flinches at the comparison, but he doesn’t argue. He doesn’t defend himself. That only makes the fury in me burn hotter, consuming every last bit of trust I had left.
“You were supposed to be different,” I scream, my voice cracking. “But you’re just like the rest of them. Full of your own hidden agendas, your secrets. I trusted you.” The words slice through the air, sharp and unrestrained, but the pain in my chest only deepens, filling every hollow space left by his betrayal.
The silence that follows is suffocating, thick with words unsaid and wounds left open. My heart races, each beat a reminder of the betrayal, the hurt. A part of me clings to some faint hope he’ll say something—anything—to make this right, to offer some explanation that doesn’t leave me broken.
But he doesn’t. The silence stretches on, and I know it’s too late.
“I need to get out of here,” I whisper to Theo, my voice barely a breath, trembling with the weight of everything I can’t bear. “Please… just get me out of here.”
Theo’s arm tightens around me, but before he can respond, Calsteps forward, desperation etched across his face.
“I can do it,” he says softly, as if he thinks there’s still something he can say to make this right.
“Fuck you, Callon.” The words fly out of me, sharp and unyielding. My hand instinctively reaches for my dagger—only to remember it’s gone. The emptiness fuels my anger, making it burn hotter. My chest heaves, fingers curling, desperate for something to ground me. I tear the necklace from my neck, the chain snapping, and throw it at him. “Let me ask you something,” I spit, voice rising. “Was there ever a plan to tell me? Or was I just a pawn, waiting around until I was ‘useful’ enough for the truth?”
He flinches, but he can’t meet my gaze. The silence stretches, a chasm of everything unsaid, and his head drops, as though the weight of it all is too much.
I let out a bitter laugh, one devoid of any real humor. “I thought so.” My voice cracks, too full, too raw. “You’re just like him.”
