Chapter 217

Grayson’s POV

The air crackled. My pulse hammered. Seeing her after everything… it paralyzed me. Her eyes, swirling and guarded, met mine. She knew I was coming. I didn’t know how to face her.

Words failed me. My mouth was dry. Then, instinctively, my gaze dropped to her stomach. Three months, just like Elaine’s. I hadn’t decided what to say about it.

Before I could speak, she said, her tone flat, “I’m going outside for air.”

She slipped past, brushing my shoulder. I watched her go. “Ava…” I called, but she didn’t stop. Frozen, I finally followed.

I found her by Ricardo’s fountain, watching a mother duck and her ducklings. A mother and her children. Something twisted in my chest, seeing Ava’s arms wrapped around herself.

I took a step closer, feeling the rift between us—tangible, heavy, unforgiving. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. It was all I could think to say.

She didn't respond. “Liam,” I cleared my throat, “He planted the messages.”

Still nothing. Then, without looking at me, she whispered, “What do you want me to say?”

I stiffened. She glanced at me, her eyes empty. “Okay?” she continued, her voice unreadable. “You didn’t know? You were made to believe I did those horrible things? Betrayed you?”

Her quiet resignation was worse than anger. This was her giving up.

She turned back to the fountain. “I know there’s nothing I can say—”

She snapped her head up. Her eyes burned. “Yes,” she said sharply, “There is nothing you can say to fix the horrible things you said.” Her voice wavered, then steadied. “I told you I didn’t do it! But you wouldn’t listen! If, after everything, you still couldn’t trust me, then there is nothing left.”

My heart pounded. Her lips parted. “Maybe there was never anything there,” she whispered.

She laughed humorlessly. “You believed it was all lies. Maybe it should stay that way.”

“Ava,” I said, taking a step toward her. She recoiled. Her eyes glistened. “Please, don’t come near me.”

Her words were a blade. It wasn’t anger, or bitterness, but finality. This was heartbreak.

We stood trapped in a heavy silence. She broke it first. “We both have things to figure out. I need to find Damien, my sister…you have a kingdom. It’s best if we focus on that.”

She was cutting ties. “If we survive this,” she continued, “we can discuss custody of this child. That’s if you want to. If not, I’ll raise my child alone.”

I watched, mute, as she laid out her terms. “Until then,” she added softly, “I have nothing to say to you.”

“You forgave me for everything else,” I blurted.

She looked at me. The indifference was a punch. “Because I loved you,” she said. “Long before I even knew it, before I even realized it.” She smiled sadly. “But I guess I don’t know what love is, so I probably did it wrong.”

She was fading. “Ava—” My name was a plea. I reached for her, but she stepped back.

“You asked me to get out of your life,” she said quietly, her eyes boring into mine. “I’m trying. Please let me.” She closed her eyes, then opened them, hard and resolute. “I think it would be best if you did the same for me.”

She was gone.