Lucas didn't need to answer me because I could see the answer in his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

I turned my head away and squeezed my eyes closed as I tried to fight the agonizing pain that filled my chest.

Dad's words from earlier had made my heart crack but finding out that our mate was set on destroying our family ripped me to pieces.

I had been so set on protecting my family from Oliver that I had failed to even consider the possibility the Eva could be right. Dad had taught us caution and I had blindly trusted Lucas because he was my mate.

"I should have listened to Eva," I whispered. "She knew from the start. She knew."

"Ari—"

"I was so fucking desperate to—"

"Doll—"

"Don't call me that!" I yelled at him. "You're a liar!" I pushed him away but he didn't even budge an inch. "I hate you!"

Lucas got blurry as tears filled my eyes. I was unable to stop them from escaping and rolling down my cheeks. Anger was exactly what I needed to find the strength to push him away but the pain was taking control.

I growled as I pushed him again and again.

Lucas caught my wrist and spun me around so I face the wall. I thrashed in his hold, trying but failing to free myself from his hold. Breathless, I slumped against him and gave up on trying to stop the tears.

He sucked in a breath and pressed his face to the crook of my neck. "I—"

"You have an hour's head start." I forced the words out. "You have an hour before I tell them."

His body tensed and a moment later his arms loosened and slowly slid away. The moment I was free of his hold, I stumbled away from him. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I sucked in a few deep breathes and then turned to face him. It was a struggle to lift my chin and look him right in the eyes.

"You don't mean that," Lucas muttered. "You won't tell them."

"I will."

He took a step towards me but froze when I stumbled backwards. "Ari—"

"Will you. . .go through with your mother's plans? Will you forget it all and try to make things work between us instead?"

Hope rose when he remained silent. I was fucking stupid to think that I meant so much to him. Lucas felt the bond between us but it wasn't the same. He didn't feel the pull with the same intensity as me.

"You want me to forget about it?" He sneered at me. "Do you really think that I can just forget years of fucking abuse? You want me to just forget. . ." He broke off with a shake of his head.

Lucas turned away and took a few steps towards the door, but then he spun around and pointed a finger at me.

"I can never fucking forget what Silas did to my mother. I fucking hate him with everything in me!"

For a moment I watched him silently until I couldn't stop the question from tumbling past my lips.

"Why did you stop Oliver from killing me?"

Lucas turned away from me.

"If he killed me you would have gotten what you wanted! You would have succeeded in destroying my family." Storming over to him, I grabbed his arm and forced him to face me. "Why didn't you let him kill me, Lucas?"

"Because I fucking can't!"

"Why not?" I breathed. "If you hate my Dad so much then you must hate me too because we have the same blood running through our veins."

His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but then he pursed them and spun away.

I watched silently as he packed clothes into a bag and stormed over to the door. He froze there with his hand on the door handle and turned to look at me over his shoulder.

"I'll kill them if they come after me," he told me.

I remained silent.

Nothing I said was going to change things. If he killed Dad while he was chasing him it wouldn't make much of a difference because either way he was going to do something that would destroy him.

But the longer he lingered, the more I started to hope. Maybe there was a possibility that his feelings for me was stronger than what he made me believe. Just maybe there was a possibility. . .

"I never pretended," he whispered. "Everything I said, everything we did. . .it was never a lie."

And then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

I dropped to my knees and pressed a fist to my lips as tears fell. My whole world was crumbling around me and I honestly didn't have the strength to try and glue it back together.

***

I had survived the death of my Mom at the age of ten. I had survived the kidnapping and torture of Hunters at the age of twelve. I had survived a second kidnapping and being tortured by Oliver who had also been set on revenge for his parent's death.

At the age of 21, I had suffered much more than any normal person my age and I had the scars to prove it.

After everything I had been through, I could honestly say that none of that compared to the pain I felt when Lucas walked away.

All the signs had been there but I was too stupid to see it. Eva had clearly pointed it out to me but I had waved it off because I wanted a mate so desperately.

No matter how much I had been wrong, it didn't make things any easier.

I had two choices; I could take the photos to Dad and tell him everything Lucas had just told me, or I could get rid of it and pretend that they never existed.

The right thing to do would be to expose Lucas, to let Dad handle it.

But despite the anger and betrayal, Lucas was still my mate and the fault of betraying him made me feel sick.

Dad had been right when he called me weak.

The girl I once was had been buried beneath the pathetic girl I had become. Instead of facing my demons like I should have done, I had allowed them to rule me.

But no more.

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I got up and stormed over to the bed where I picked up the plastic bag and reached for the photos. I was hit with another wave of indecision. I hesitated only for a seconds more before I pushed all thoughts from my mind.

It was the right thing to do.