Chapter 284.

He looked up briefly.

Torak’s eyes were still open. Barely.

Blackfen continued.

"But I have come to understand that love alone is not enough to build a life, and you are not my mate. There are responsibilities I cannot ignore, and there are decisions I must make for the sake of my family."

Torak’s expression changed, but his brows drew together.

Blackfen noticed. "Interesting, isn’t it?" He lowered his gaze. "I have therefore accepted a marriage proposal from Lord Varent."

For a moment, the room was quiet.

Torak didn’t blink.

Blackfen looked at him. "Did you hear that?"

Torak’s lips moved.

Blackfen leaned forward slightly.

"The wedding will take place soon, and I hope you will understand that this is the path I have chosen. Lord Varent has offered my family a future, and I believe it is time for me to put the past behind me. And I need to save your life."

Torak’s breathing changed. He tried to lift his head. The movement was so small that the pillow barely shifted.

"Stop."

Blackfen looked up. "Stop what?"

"That..." Torak swallowed painfully. "Don’t speak."

Blackfen glanced at the paper. "You don’t want to hear the rest?"

Torak’s eyes moved towards him. There was confusion in them. Disbelief.

"She wouldn’t... Amd those aren’t words Adele would use." His voice was almost lost.

Blackfen pretended not to understand.

Torak tried to breathe properly.

His chest hurt. Everything hurt. But the words coming from Blackfen’s mouth were somehow worse than the pain.

He stared at the letter.

"That’s not..." He stopped to swallow. "That’s not Adele. She hate long speeches." He drew in a long breath. "Adele would never exolain herself to anyone. And she never defined what happened between us to call it a past." He managed to say in one breath, wheezing afterwards.

Blackfen looked at the paper again. "Are you certain?"

Torak’s eyes moved back to him. "She wouldn’t."

Blackfen folded one side of the letter. "Wouldn’t what? Marry Lord Varent?"

Torak said nothing.

Blackfen placed the paper on his knee. "Perhaps you should listen before deciding what she would or wouldn’t do."

Torak’s eyelids fluttered. He was struggling to keep them open. Still, he forced himself to look at Blackfen.

"Adele would never agree to be with the one she loves. You can’t make me believe she would settle down with someone else she doesn’t love. The mate bond is sacred to her."

For the first time, Blackfen’s smile widened.

He had expected anger.

He had expected Torak to curse him, accuse him of lying, perhaps even attempt to get out of bed.

But this was better.

Torak was still defending her.

Even after everything.

Even with his body broken and his strength almost gone, he refused to believe Adele could willingly choose another man.

Blackfen leaned back in his chair. "You’re quite confident about what she wants."

"Because..." Torak’s voice faded. He closed his eyes for a moment, then forced them open again. "Because I know her."

"How interesting. You seem to know everything about my daughter, yet you couldn’t protect her from the consequences of her own decisions."

Torak’s jaw tightened.

Blackfen continued, his voice higher now.

"You knew she was my daughter. You knew what her position meant. You knew the consequences of pursuing her, and yet you still chose to involve yourself."

He tapped the letter against his knee. "And now you want to tell me what she would never agree to?"

Torak looked at him. "Where is she?"

Blackfen’s expression relaxed a bit, and turned pleasant. "With her future husband, perhaps."

Torak’s fingers twitched against the bedsheet. The movement pulled at his injured hand, and a sharp breath escaped him.

He stopped immediately.

"Careful. You wouldn’t want to damage yourself further."

Torak stared at him. "Where is Adele?"

"I just told you. She has accepted a marriage proposal."

"Where?"

Blackfen shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Torak tried to move.

His body refused.

He managed only to lift his shoulder slightly before the pain forced him back against the pillow.

A quiet groan escaped him.

Blackfen watched without offering help. Why would he? "Look at you," he said. "You cannot even sit up."

Torak’s breathing became uneven. "Please..."

The word was so quiet that Blackfen almost missed it. He leaned forward.

"What?"

Torak swallowed. "Let me see her." His eyes were growing heavier. He fought to keep them open. "Please."

Blackfen studied him. "You want to see her?"

Torak gave the smallest nod.

"Then perhaps you should accept that she has moved on."

Torak shook his head weakly.

"She has agreed to marry Lord Varent."

Torak’s eyes filled with a helpless sort of anger. "You lying bastard."

Blackfen said nothing.

Torak tried to turn his head away, but even that small movement seemed to exhaust him.

He looked back at the letter..

Adele might have been frightened of her father. She might have been uncertain about their future. She might have even regretted choosing him.

But she wouldn’t send him a letter like this.

He knew the way she struggled to say what she felt, even when she wanted to. She would never write a worded letter.

He knew she would rather suffer in silence than explain herself to anyone. Not even him.

"She wouldn’t leave..."

His voice was barely audible.

Blackfen looked down at him. "She already has."

Torak’s breathing remained shallow, his face turned slightly towards the pillow.

Blackfen stood. He placed the wedding invitation beside the letter.

"Rest." He straightened his coat. "You’ll need your strength."

Torak didn’t respond.

Blackfen glanced at him one last time.

He had wanted to break the Beta’s pride.

He had wanted him to understand that loving Adele did not make him worthy of her, and that no amount of defiance would change who controlled her future.

But looking at Torak now, Blackfen knew something else. He hadn’t needed to convince him that Adele was marrying Lord Varent.

He had only needed to make him imagine it. And Torak was already suffering as though it had happened.