Paula's POV
My legs didn't want to move, but somehow I stood. Maybe it was shock. Maybe it was the desperation still clinging to my ribs like wet cloth. Or maybe, deep down I was still holding on to the part of me that believed Noah wouldn't really hurt me.
"Just listen to me," he said again. His voice was hoarse. Eyes wide. Hands twitching like he didn't know what to do with them. "Please, Paula. Just… just come with me. I'll explain everything. Away from here."
Away from here.
Away from the mansion. Away from the staff. Away from the office where his dick was still probably wet from Cassie.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to claw his face open and ask him what the hell he did with the boy I used to love. But instead… I nodded.
I didn't say a word. I just walked.
Maybe part of me still hoped this was some huge mistake. Some misunderstanding, some twisted accident I walked into at the wrong time. Maybe Cassie drugged him. Or seduced him. Maybe he felt powerless after Dad died and she sank her claws in deeper than I thought. He used to hate her. Or pretend to.
But that's the thing, isn't it?
People pretend.
Noah led me to the black Jeep parked by the far end of the estate, the one he used for border patrol runs. I didn't ask where we were going. I didn't care. I just sat there, hands numb in my lap, feeling the pregnancy test still wrapped in tissue, like it might disappear if I squeezed hard enough.
The ride was silent. Awkward. My heart thudded against my ribs, not in fear, yet, but in this sick kind of anticipation. Like maybe this was finally the moment he'd choose me again. Pick me over Cassie. Fix it. Fix us.
But the longer we drove, the more the air thickened. The trees got denser. The path got bumpier. We weren't heading into town. We weren't even near a road anymore. Just dirt and trees and shadows.
"Noah?" I finally asked, my voice small. "Where… where are we going?"
"To the cliff," he said. "You always loved it there, remember?"
And yeah, I remembered.
It was the place we had our first kiss. The one where I carved our names into that old oak tree and swore I'd love him even if the moon itself burned out. It was where he promised he'd protect me forever.
Guess forever had an expiration date.
When he parked, it was almost dark. The sun bleeding out across the sky like a dying animal. A storm was crawling in from the north. I could smell the rain coming.
I got out slowly, boots crunching against the gravel. The wind whipped at my coat. My fingers trembled.
He didn't look at me. Not once. Just walked toward the edge like it called to him.
"Noah, just tell me the truth," I said, my throat burning. "Please. Tell me you didn't mean it. Tell me she meant nothing. Tell me I'm not crazy."
He stopped walking.
And then I heard the second set of footsteps.
Cassie.
Of course.
She stepped out from behind the pine trees like a ghost in red. Not even winded. Her lipstick perfect. Her nails polished. And in her hand… was a folded piece of paper.
"What the hell is she doing here?" I snapped, backing up.
"You didn't think we'd do this without her," Noah said quietly.
"Do what?" My voice cracked.
Cassie smiled like a cat about to pounce. "Clean up loose ends, sweetheart."
And that's when it hit me.
I wasn't supposed to make it back from this ride.
Noah looked at me then. Really looked at me. His face was flat, like he'd emptied everything out already. Not anger. Not regret. Just… done.
"You weren't supposed to see what you saw," he said, almost like he was explaining a rule I broke. "You always had to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
My breath hitched. "You cheated on me. In my father's study. On the day we buried him."
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Get over it. You were never really his priority. Your father barely looked at you once I came into the picture."
"That's a lie—" I snapped.
"Is it?" Her voice was icy. "Who signed over the estate to Noah and me in the last will? Who told the pack you were too soft to lead anything?"
My heart dropped. "That will was forged."
"Prove it," she whispered.
The wind howled. I took a step back. But the cliff was right behind me now. I could hear the waves crashing far below.
"Noah…" I said again, reaching for him. "I'm pregnant."
It came out broken. My voice cracked in half. I hadn't meant to say it yet. Not like this.
But it didn't matter.
He blinked. Then laughed…quiet and cruel. "Are you serious?"
Cassie tilted her head. "That explains the mood swings."
"She's lying," Noah said.
"I'm not," I whispered, and this time I was crying. "It's yours, Noah. I found out this morning. I thought, God, I thought it would change things."
And for a flicker, just a flicker, I thought I saw doubt in his eyes.
But Cassie moved fast.
She shoved me hard before I could brace.
I stumbled, heels scraping against the edge of the cliff. And then a second shove, Noah's hands this time, strong and final, and the ground disappeared beneath me.
Air rushed past. My scream was caught in my throat. The fall was long enough for me to feel every second of betrayal. Every lie. Every cold night I spent in that house believing he still loved me.
And then the rocks.
Pain tore through my back, my side, my skull. I tasted blood. I couldn't move.
My hands curled around my stomach one last time, trying to shield my baby. My little one. I'm so sorry, I thought. I'm so sorry I brought you into this world of monsters.
Everything went black.
Then light.
I rose out of my body like fog. Weightless. Cold. Confused.
Below me, I saw my own form. Broken. Bloody. Twisted against the stone.
And Noah. Looking down at it with his jaw clenched.
Cassie stepped beside him, brushing dirt off her dress like this was just a chore. A task.
"It's done," she said, smiling. "Just like we did with her father."