My Cold-Hearted Husband Wants Me Back
Chapter 117: To Protect What Was Left

Chapter 117: To Protect What Was Left

"What are you saying?"

Eryx stepped forward, standing by Lunara’s side. He gently turned her to face him. "What do you mean? She led me to you?"

He didn’t understand. All he knew was that he got the information about Lilith’s debt from Callum and—

Suddenly, something clicked.

"Did you fabricate the document?" Eryx’s sharp gaze landed on Regina.

Regina didn’t answer right away. Her face remained composed, but her silence spoke louder than any denial.

Lunara looked between them, her voice brittle. "So it’s true."

Regina finally exhaled, her voice low. "I need to... When Lilith fell into a coma a few years ago, I knew things would never be the same. She made me promise... if something happened to her, I’d make sure you were taken care of."

"So you manipulated both of us?" Eryx asked, jaw tight.

"I gave you what you needed," she said calmly. "You were losing your grip, Eryx. You needed a win, and she..." her eyes flicked to Lunara, "she needed to be protected. I just... put you in each other’s paths."

"You used me," Lunara muttered, her voice shaking.

"I guided you," Regina said quietly. "Not everything was fake. You said it yourself... you started to care."

"That’s not the point!" Lunara snapped. "You built our beginning on a lie."

"And if I hadn’t?" Regina asked. "Would either of you be here right now?"

Lunara scoffed, her fists clenched at her sides. "You must think I should be grateful, right?"

Regina’s expression didn’t change. "No. I don’t expect gratitude."

"Then what do you expect?" Lunara’s voice trembled now, with something deeper than just anger, perhaps, betrayal? "You pushed me into a life I never asked for. You let me believe my mother left nothing but debt. You let me marry a man who—" she broke off, glancing at Eryx, her throat tightening.

"I did what I had to," Regina replied, calm but firm. "Because she trusted me. Because I loved her."

"Then you should’ve told me the truth," Lunara said, her voice low, bitter. "You don’t get to use love as a reason to control someone’s life."

Regina looked like she wanted to say something more, but Lunara turned away before she could. Her chest burned, too many truths, too many layers she hadn’t seen until now. The big living room felt too suffocating.

Eryx, silent all this time, finally spoke. "Lunara..."

She didn’t turn back. "I need some air."

"No!" Eryx caught her wrist before she could reach the door, his grip firm but not harsh. "No, let’s talk."

Lunara turned sharply, her eyes flashing with anger. "What? Now I can’t even take a breath?"

Eryx’s grip on her wrist softened, but he didn’t let go. "I’m not trying to control you, Lunara. I just—"

"Just what?" Lunara snapped, her voice sharp with anger. "You think I should just listen to all of you, playing me like a fool? Controlling me however you want? Deciding my life like I don’t have a choice?!"

Eryx winced, the weight of her words hitting harder than he expected. "I never wanted to make you feel that way. It’s not what I intended."

Lunara yanked her wrist free from his grasp, her chest rising and falling with the heat of her frustration. "What did you think would happen? You drag me into this mess, threaten me with things I don’t even understand, and then you expect me to just be okay with it? To just... be thankful?"

She turned away, pacing a few steps, her hands shaking with the force of her emotions. "I don’t even know who to trust anymore, Eryx. My whole life feels like a lie. How do I even know what’s real?"

"Lunara..." Regina called, halting her movement. "We really need to talk."

"What more is there to talk about?!" she shouted, her voice cracking as her body bent forward from the force of it. "You made decisions about my life without me! And you—" she pointed at Eryx, eyes burning, "how old do you think I am, that you thought hiding the truth about my mother’s condition would somehow make me feel better?!"

Eryx froze. Speechless.

Lunara’s voice trembled as more words tumbled out. "She was all I had left. And you both... you decided for me. You thought it was better if I didn’t know? Better if I just lived in your perfect little setup? I didn’t even get to say goodbye to her!"

She blinked hard, her chest heaving. "Do you know what that feels like? Waiting every single day for a miracle that never came? Holding on to hope, because no one dared to tell me the truth? And when it ended... I didn’t even know it was ending. I wasn’t ready."

Eryx’s hands curled into fists. He looked away, jaw tight.

Lunara stepped closer, her voice rising. "And you," she said, pointing at him again with eyes full of hurt, "you decided I couldn’t handle the truth. That it was better to lie."

"I really thought you couldn’t," Eryx said at last, biting his lip.

"Oh, so now you know me better than I know myself?" Lunara snapped, the words like a slap.

That was the last thread. Thread that was holding Eryx’s anger and frustration.

Eryx’s voice suddenly rose, loud and sharp. "Yes! Because I watched you fall apart!"

She flinched as she didn’t expect the sudden burst.

His gaze furrowed on her as he continued.

"You collapsed in my arms the night Mila died. You probably didn’t remember. For days, you didn’t even know where you were. You woke up asking if she was still asleep, Lunara! Like none of it happened. You barely spoke. You didn’t eat. I had to sit there, holding everything together while watching you break into pieces."

His chest rose and fell with the weight of it, every breath sounding like it hurt.

"I wasn’t trying to control you," he said quietly now. "I was trying to protect what was left of you."

The living room fell into a heavy silence.

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