Violet leaned forward, her face was more serious than Klarissa had ever seen it.“It comes down to one question, really.If you died tomorrow what will be your greatest regret?Never being with them again and not fighting for the future that you all deserve, or not keeping yourself and your heart safe from being broken again.”
Klarissa swallowed, the words sinking deep, swirling with her own thoughts.Could it be that simple?Could she even let herself believe?Her chest ached, but something small and stubborn sparked inside.
She turned to Violet, voice steady, though her heart hammered.“Let them up.I’ll wait for them in the dojo.”
Violet’s grin was wicked.“Excellent choice.”
As Klarissa climbed the stairs toward the dojo, her steps slow but resolute, she mused that perhaps it hadn’t been an accident that Violet had shown that first clip at all.
Chapter Nine
Klarissa stood in thecenter of the dojo, her bare feet pressed into the polished wood.The silence pressed in around her, thick with memory, and she couldn’t help but think of what had happened here earlier that day.The words, the accusations—it all clung to the air like smoke she couldn’t escape.Her chest tightened, but she forced her shoulders back, spine straight.Whatever came next, she would face it.No matter what the outcome was, she had to get through this.
The faint creak of the stairwell door opening had her turning.Her breath hitched when she saw them.Rune and Kamon stepped into the light, and the sight nearly undid her.They looked wrecked—clothes rumpled, faces pale, eyes shadowed with raw emotion.Their hair was a mess, their posture tight with strain, and the pain in their eyes was raw enough to cut her in half.
Her lungs squeezed, but she didn’t move.They came closer, but without her saying a word, they stopped a few paces away, as if an invisible wall barred them.The space between them yawned wide, a physical chasm carved by betrayal and grief, and Klarissa wrapped her arms around herself to keep from trembling.
She lifted her chin, forcing steel into her frame, and waited.
They shifted, uncertain, but neither stepped forward.Rune’s jaw flexed, Kamon’s fists opened and closed at his sides.Klarissa arched a brow, waiting, her silence a challenge.She had given them this chance.Now it was on them to bridge the distance—or not at all.
Rune was the first to speak, his voice hoarse.“We’re sorry.Gods, Klarissa, we’re so fucking sorry.We hate ourselves for what we said.”
Kamon’s eyes glistened as he nodded.“We don’t deserve forgiveness, but we need to ask for it anyway.Please, waan jai.”
Klarissa’s voice was quiet but steady.“For what?Do you even know what hurt me the most?”
Both men answered at the same time, raw conviction in their tone.“You are not your father.”
The words slammed into her chest, and she sucked in a sharp breath.They were right—that was what had gutted her most.The one fear that had been her shadow, thrown back at her as truth.
Rune took a tentative step closer, his eyes never leaving hers.“You are not him.You’re everything he could never be—brave, brilliant, compassionate.We lashed out because of our own pain, and we’ll never forgive ourselves for it.We beat you with words when you least deserved it, and that shame will stay with us.”
Kamon added, voice thick.“Boonsri was our heart.Losing her shattered us.But it doesn’t excuse what we said.It never will.We will carry that guilt for the rest of our lives.”
Klarissa swallowed hard, her throat tight.“What did you mean earlier—about your parents?”
