“I didn’t know he hurt anyone!”
“Killed!” Leo shouted. “My whole family isdeadbecause of Ritter! And you would’vemarriedhim?”
“It wasn’t like that!”
“What was it like? How long were you fucking him? Ritter sure enjoyed bragging about that!”
“It was only one night!”
“Which night?”
“You and I weren’t together. I never cheated on you.”
“Which night, Evelyn?” he demanded.
All the shit I put myself through to avoid this exact conversation and we’re still having it.
“The night you kissed Hannah.”
Leo blinked at her, processing information he didn’t want. “The night before I proposed? You had just shared a bed withRitterwhen you agreed to marry me?”
Evelyn balled her hands into fists. “I had no idea you were going to propose. You and I were barely talking.”
“How many secrets are you keeping, Evelyn?” Leo ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re a fucking hypocrite! You wereso angry at me for lying about my name, but my lie didn’t kill hundreds of people!”
“I didn’t know how serious it was! Yes, I lied about some things, but I didn’t know what Haydn was doing. He tricked me like he did everyone else.”
“Did he trick you into learning a new type of magic? Is it an accident that you can throw power around just like Ritter and Heinrich?”
“Moeller taught me Energy magic. Haydn only told me it was possible because my mother could do it.”
“You still didn’t fuckingtell meabout it!” Leo roared. “I think you liked having your secrets with Ritter. You certainly didn’t hesitate to throw yourself at him earlier!”
“I was trying to save you!” Evelyn cried. “I was trying to keep us alive!”
“Why bother? You already admitted you wanted to marry Ritter, you regret marrying me, you don’t trust me, and you would rather fuck a murderer!”
“I didn’t want to say any of that! He was controlling me with Bargain magic.”
“Controlling you to answer truthfully, right? You meant everything you said.”
Evelyn winced. “It’s not that simple. You know things haven’t been easy with us lately.”
“But we were supposed to be a team. That’s what you said you wanted. I wouldn’t have changed the law of succession if I’d known you were working with Ritter!”
She wanted to hide from the resentment in his eyes. “I wasn’t working with him! You have to believe that, Leo.”
“You still weren’tmine, though, were you? You belonged to Ritter.”
“Ikilledhim last night!” Evelyn was shaking. “I’m yours, Leo. I loveyou.”
Leo blew out a long breath. “I loved you. I loved you, and you lied to me. I loved you, and I watched my mother bleed to death because of you. I’mdone.”
His last word dropped like a boulder in a landslide. Leo turned to leave and Evelyn’s heart stopped.
“No!” She jumped forward and clutched his arm. “Leo, please! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I made a mistake, but I’ll make it right!”
Leo pried her hands off him, refusing to meet Evelyn’s gaze. He strode away, ignoring the sound of his wife screaming.
