Leo
I had absolutely no idea where I was running, but I kept my legs moving, pushing my body forward through the darkness as tears streamed relentlessly down my face.
The questions began to violently assault my mind with every single step I took. Why did I let my emotions get the best of me? How could I have lost control and hurt Miller like that?
Was he ever going to trust me again after what I did to him? The horrific reality of my actions felt like a physical weight crushing my lungs.
I had pushed him away and severely injured him, even though I didn’t want to. Even though protecting him was the entire reason I had been holding myself back.
How could I be so incredibly monstrous?
A raw, broken scream tore past my lips as I finally reached the main street.
I clenched my fists together so tightly that my knuckles turned white, the sheer pressure entirely restricting the blood flow in my palms until they throbbed with a dull, stinging numbness.
I had tried so hard to control myself. I had spent every single day on this island meticulously regulating my heart rate and keeping my primary nature locked away just to ensure I didn’t let this dark side show. And now, because of one single lapse in judgment, everything was going to end.
Miller was going to hate me. There was no doubt about it. After all, I had let my strength take over and I had hurt him badly. The absolute look of shock and vulnerability he gave me when he hit that wall was more than enough to tell me that this was probably the end of us.
"How could I have done that to him!" I screamed out into the void, reaching up to grab a handful of my own wet hair, tugging on the strands until my scalp burned. "How could I have walked away from him and just fled? How could I have done that to him?"
I yelled yet again, grabbing another handful of hair as my knees completely gave out beneath me. I collapsed onto the rough gravel by the roadside, burying my face in my hands as I continued to sob uncontrollably. I didn’t care that there were resort staff still walking around the distant paths, or that transport cars were driving by. I was completely consumed by a profound, suffocating self-hatred for what I had done wrong—especially because it was directed toward Miller.
As if the sky itself could hear the absolute agony of my sorrows, a low, ominous crack of thunder rumbled directly overhead.
Within the blink of an eye, the clouds broke and a torrential downpour poured out. There hadn’t been a single sign of rain for days, but right there at that exact moment, the heavens opened up heavily.
I remained entirely alone on the street. While the few pedestrians around rushed to take shelter beneath the palm trees and awnings, I didn’t move an inch. I stayed right there on my knees, letting the freezing rain mix with the hot tears tracking down my face, utterly paralyzed by the guilt of hurting my mate.
I lost all track of time.
I had no idea how long I had been sitting out there under the heavy rain until a sleek, black Rolls-Royce Phantom silently glided to a halt right in front of me, its polished chassis gleaming under the streetlights.
I didn’t even bother to look up at first, remaining completely detached, until I suddenly noticed that the wet splashes were no longer hitting my body. The heavy downpour had stopped pelting my back.
I blinked away the water in my eyes, my gaze tracking up from a pair of immaculate, expensive black leather shoes to the sharp tailoring of a designer suit, and finally to the large black umbrella being held securely over my head.
A deep, defensive frown instantly formed on my face when I realized who was looking down at me.
"What the hell are you doing here, Gerald?" I demanded, completely dropping the honorifics out of exhaustion and spite. "Why the hell are you standing there acting like you actually care about me?"
Gerald let out a long, quiet sigh. He carefully lowered his umbrella slightly and scooted down to my level, crouching until his face was close to mine, his expression entirely unbothered by my disrespect. "I was on my way back to my residence when I spotted you out here from the window. I must admit, I never expected that someone of your stature and intellect would be crying on a public roadside in the middle of a storm. That is exactly why I stopped the vehicle, Doctor Ackerman. I knew something catastrophic must have happened."
"Oh, stop with your hypocritical crap! I know exactly what you did!" I yelled at him, my voice cracking over the sound of the rain hitting the umbrella. "You told Miller about my father!"
Gerald said absolutely nothing. He just kept his eyes fixed on me, staring with a calm, stoic look that felt like a silent confirmation.
My heart started pounding violently against my ribs when I realized he wasn’t even attempting to deny the accusation. It meant my deduction had been correct. He had exposed my family’s dark history behind my back.
"What did you tell him!" I yelled straight into his face, the anger inside me flaring up all over again, entirely uncontrollable. "What the hell did you put into his head!"
My screams grew even louder, my breathing turning shallow as the energy under my skin began to violently vibrate.
"I see you have completely released your pheromones," Gerald pointed out calmly, his eyes narrowing as he took in the thick, suffocating scent of black charcoal that was beginning to bleed into the wet air around us. "Tell me, Leo... did you let your crazy emotions take complete control over your thinking, and then accidentally hurt your partner in the process?"