“And then, one night… Isabelle became so vulnerable that I was able to seduce her.”
Roman’s nostrils flared, his blood roaring to the surface. The veins in his neck bulged, his fists tightening so violently it was a wonder he hadn’t leaped from the couch and driven them into my skull.
In his place, I would have done the same.
I exhaled. “Isabelle responded to the darkness inside of me—my potent desires. But her devotion to Armand was stronger.” My voice was quiet, but its raw edge could not be ignored. “At the last moment, she ripped herself away, leaving me frozen and wanting in her bedchamber.”
I swallowed hard. “I scrambled out of bed to follow her. She was sobbing, crying, ‘What have I done?’” My fists clenched at the memory, the desperation in her voice still haunting me. “She was furious with herself. With me.”
My throat tightened. “I found her outside in the moonlight, pacing in wild circles, her hands tangled in her hair. She looked lost, undone.”
I turned to Olivia. “‘Stay away from me,’ she growled when I stepped closer.” A hollow chuckle escaped me. “But fool that I am, I couldn’t stay away.”
The memory was as vivid as if it had just happened. “I begged for her forgiveness. I swore I wouldn’t deny Armand my love—I would love you both.” My chest ached as I met Olivia’s eyes, my own stinging with unshed tears. “And you said no.”
The ache of that rejection crashed over me like a relentless tide, drowning me in the sorrow of a love never realized.
But I couldn’t let them see my weakness.
Fury surged in place of grief. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, my expression hardening.
“You swore me to secrecy.” My voice was sharp now, laced with a bitterness that had festered for centuries. “You told me you would cast me out if I ever said this to Armand.” I let out a short, humorless laugh. “And then you left me.”
My lip curled, my rage barely contained. “I became nothing but acaretaker. Childcare, nothing more, while you and Armand searched for the dagger.”
Olivia shot to her feet, her eyes blazing. “Stop talking to me as if I am that same woman!”
I tilted my head, regarding her with something close to amusement—but the pain still burned beneath my skin.
“Oh, but you are,” I murmured, my voice dropping to something almost reverent, almost broken. “We are still trapped in the same fate and cruel cycle.”
I let my gaze drift between them, my shoulders rigid. “I remain on the outside, watching. Loving you both from a distance. Sworn never to have what you share so freely with each other.”
The pain in my chest grew unbearable. It clawed at my ribs and ripped through my very soul.
I stalked to the fireplace, snatched up the iron poker, and stabbed it into the burning logs, sending a spray of embers into the air. The fire roared back to life, but it did nothing to temper the inferno within me.
I was too furious, too raw to speak.
Me. The man who had always been impassive. The man who had mastered control over centuries of torment. And yet, the woman who sat before me—whether she was Olivia or Isabelle—had always been my undoing.
I stared into the flames, gripping the poker so tightly my knuckles turned white. I forced my emotions into submission, molding them into something cold, something jagged.
Only when I was certain I could speak without breaking did I rise, turning back to face them.
“I was in agony with you both gone,” I said. “I missed you terribly. You would return, from time to time, to check on the children. But you ignored me.”
I let my gaze linger on Olivia. “Armand knew nothing. I kept our shared secret.” A mirthless chuckle escaped me. “He treated me as a brother, as if nothing had changed. As if I had not betrayed him in the worst possible way.
I swallowed hard, the name catching like a thorn in my throat.
“Isabelle,” I revealed. “Isabelle brought me the dagger.”
The words felt heavy on my tongue, as if even speaking them resurrected that moment. “I told her I didn’t want it. That she and Armand should keep it. I no longer cared.”
I cast a cold, unforgiving glare at Olivia. Her breath hitched as she lifted her gaze to mine.
She shrank back, huddling closer to Roman.
