AVA'S POV
He laughed bitterly. "You knew who I was from the start, Ava. Don't pretend you thought you were marrying a saint."
"I didn't marry a saint," I said. "I married a man with a heart. A man who believed in justice, not destruction."
The silence between us was thick with everything unsaid. And I saw it, the flicker of pain behind his anger. The boy behind the beast.
"I trusted you," he said finally.
"And I'm still here," I replied softly. "Even if it means being your enemy to save you."
He stared at me for a long time, then stepped back.
"This ends now," he said.
I didn't know if he meant the plan, the sabotage, or… us.
But I felt it in my bones, everything was about to change. And whether we came out of it together or shattered, I would no longer be the same Ava Monroe.
Because loving Ethan Kingsley meant standing in the fire.
Even if it burned me alive.
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