Ethan stepped closer. “There was no spell that made you a liar. No curse that turned you cruel. No enchantment that made you manipulate healers, threaten Chloe, or order rogue men to hurt Sophia.”
“I didn’t—”
“Yes,” he cut her off sharply. “You did.”
She staggered back like he’d slapped her.
“You chose this path,” Ethan said, quieter now. “Stone by stone. Lie by lie. You built it yourself. And now it’s crumbling.”
“I was desperate,” she choked. “I lost everything. I was pregnant, I was—”
“You were not pregnant,” he snapped. “You faked that too.”
Tears streamed freely now. “I loved you.”
Ethan looked at her, finally, fully. “Then you should have let me go when I stopped loving you.”
Silence filled the room.
He turned to leave.
And Maddy let herself sink to the floor, trembling. A
