Chapter 79: Chapter 79

DAHLIA:

“Dahlly…”

He called me gently by my name – the name that my father would lovingly call me… The name that my best friend called me…. The name that everyone who was dear and close enough would say to me…

Once, I thought we were really close enough… He was after all, my fated mate. He was supposed to be the one who will treasure me the most.

The one who will love me… The one who will never lie to me…

Now, I don’t even know if his real name was even ‘Tristan.’

“Stop calling me by my nickname,” I breathed towards him. “That name is only for those who are close to me… Stop calling me that when I don’t even know who you are…”

Today, I watched as my so-called husband lied to the prince without even bating an eyelash.

All throughout his dealings with him, he never flinched. He never hesitated to lie about what had happened the night before…

I could only watch him and wonder: was this how he inched his way towards me and made himself irreplaceable in my heart? Was this the method by which he had ensnared me so that he’ll become the person I would choose?

Everything was made up of lies and deceit… I was a fool. I was a fool to have believed such a person all along.

“Dahlia, please listen to me.”

“Listen to you? Do you want me to listen to you and your lies?!”

“Dahlia, not everything was a lie.”

“Not everything?... Then which ones were they? Which ones were the lies and the truths?... Right now, I don’t even know who you are anymore,” I said quietly.

I wanted to argue violently with him. I wanted to slap him, hit him, curse him to death. I wanted to cover every inch of his skin with a scar.

And yet, the best I could do was weep and try not to tremble as I face him.

“Tell me I’m wrong… Everything - you planned everything from the very beginning, didn’t you? You planned every little detail of our encounter.”

“Dahlia, listen to me,” Tristan – or whoever he really was – exclaimed as he clasp me by the shoulders. “It’s not what you think. I did plan this at the beginning, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I will fall in love with you!”

“You didn’t plan to fall in love with me? But how about me – did you plan it so that I’d helplessly get played at the palm of your hands? Did you plan it so that I would leave papa and Kaist during our wedding day? Did you not plan all this to injure me because I was the daughter of the person you loathed the most?”

Tristan released me from his grip and took a step backwards as if the words I had thrown at him were sharp daggers.

“I was right, wasn’t I? Your only objective was to hurt me, to hurt papa because he was part of those who killed your family!… Am I wrong here, Shadow Wolf?!”

He reached out to touch me once more, but I pushed his hands away.

“Don’t touch me!... Don’t ever come near me again!”

“Dahlia, please listen to me -”

“No, you listen to me! I trusted you with my whole heart. I trusted that the feelings we shared was mutual… I trusted that you would never lie to me, like you promised, but everything from the very start was a lie… Tell me now, how can I even believe a single word that you utter now?”

The tears I had shed last night with papa were nothing to the tears that I kept on shedding now. There was a gaping hole inside my heart that failed to close even when I had started shouting like so.

“I even believed you when you said that Lady Livia was just your friend, but just now, you said you spent the night together with her… Did the two of you plan this? Did you plan to deceive me so that you could play the part in hurting papa and Count Jeteris?”

My whole body trembled in sheer anger.

“Oh, right. The final target weren’t them after all!… The final target was the king – the one who masterminded the murders… I was nothing but a mere pawn to all your plans!”

“Dahlia, you’ve got it wrong…”

“Which part did I get wrong? Was it your twisted lies? Was it your motive?... Everything was pre-set… Even today when Kaist came running here to arrest you, didn’t you create an alibi already? I wouldn’t even be surprised if this mark on my neck was a hoax all along!”

The moment I had mentioned the word ‘mark,’ Tristan flinched… Does it mean what I think it means?...

“That’s right… I had nearly forgotten… Shadow Runes can do magic… This mate mark then, it was all done by magic right?”

As soon as I said this, tendrils of dark smoke started to emanate from my clavicle where the mark has been made. It was consuming the fated mate mark on my chest as if burning it.

As soon as the smoke disappeared, I saw every inch of the silver wolf mark fly away with it…

So, all of it was really just a lie…

A big, fat ugly lie…

Finally, the truth was revealed… Everything between us was over. He was not my mate, and I was not his…

I could only watch him now as his face contorted in pain and horror.

“D-Dhally!...”

“Enough of this show, Shadow wolf… Your lies have already revealed themselves… You and I have no cause to be together!”

I turned around towards the door, but before I could turn the knob and exit away, Tristan’s hands wrapped itself around me.

“Dahlia, don’t leave me… Don’t leave like this… Don’t break my heart into pieces!”

“Get away from me,” I began to whisper in a calmer manner.

“From this day forward, you and I no longer have any connections with each other… You are a mere stranger to me … You can go ahead and get all the revenge you want! Consider the breaking of our hearts as your success… After all, isn’t this how you wanted it to end when you seduced me?”

Despite my words, Tristan clung into me. I forced his fingers apart to get away from him.

“No… Dahlia!”

I didn’t care how hard he wailed or how pathetic he seemed when he called my name.

All of those things were part of an act anyway… I mustn’t get swayed… I mustn’t look back…