The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 262

Chapter 262

-Grayson’s POV

I hated you because you saw it happen again and again, and you stayed. You let it happen.”

The words hung in the air, heavier than I expected. I let out a slow breath, watching the way the wind stirred the leaves around the headstone.

It had never occurred to me–not once—to let myself think of her in any other way than how much I loved her. How much of a good mother she was. How much I regretted being responsible for her death.

“You could have left him,” I murmured. “We could have left.”

My gaze drifted to the other grave. His grave and that was when the realization settled in. Cold. Unforgiving.

“But you couldn’t, could you?” My voice was quiet, but there was no hesitation in it. I tilted my head slightly, as if seeing something that had always been right in front of me but never truly understanding it until now, “Because you were fated to him. Because you loved him. Because it didn’t matter what he did, you forgave him.”

I swallowed hard, my fingers twitching slightly against my thigh. I had spoken the words without thinking, but now that they were out in the open, they felt impossible to take back.

My jaw tightened. My gaze flickered back to her name.

“It didn’t matter how many times he hurt you,” I continued. “How many times you cried because of him. How many times you swore he would change. You stayed.”

And then, before I could stop myself, I said it, “Just like Ava always forgives me. And she stays.”

The realization hit harder than I expected. It twisted in my chest, sharp and unrelenting. My body tensed, every muscle coiling like a wire pulled too tight.

I turned back toward his grave, my expression blank, unreadable.

“I really did turn out to be just like you, didn’t I?”

The words didn’t feel like a question. They felt like a sentence.

A quiet laugh left my lips–humorless, almost bitter. I shook my head slightly, the weight of it all settling on my shoulders, “And I bet if you could see me now, you would finally look at me with pride,” I muttered, my gaze shifting back to his grave.

Then, turning to hers, my voice softened, but my words were just as certain.

“And you… you would look at me the way you always looked at him. With sadness. With hopelessness.” I exhaled slowly, shaking my head, “But you would love me anyway. Just like Ava loves me in spite of all the bullshit I put her through.”

I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore, but the words kept coming, unraveling something inside me that had been wound too tight for too long.

“I didn’t think any of this would happen when she crashed into my life when I least expected it. And I let her stay because I thought I could control it. I thought I could control her,” I admitted. “I offered her a contract. A deal. Because that’s all I knew. I didn’t believe in love. I didn’t believe in… people.”

I let out a slow breath, my fingers curling into fists.

that part of me was dead, burned away with everything

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Chapter 262

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want to be more than

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grave, “You would have loved her,”

name. Between me and the memories I

me, threatening to suffocate me, “I don’t want to carry this anger anymore,”

left my mouth, “Because I don’t want them to grow up

and before I could stop it, before I could even register it, I felt the first tear slip down

first in

surprised by the feeling. By the warmth of it against

clenched into fists, my jaw tightening, “I’m sorry,” I breathed. “I never meant for that fire to kill you. I never meant to become this person. Someone you wouldn’t even recognize. Someone you wouldn’t have wanted

just stood there, letting the wind carry my words. Letting the weight of

and I forced myself to say what I had never wanted

words tasted bitter on my tongue, but I didn’t stop.

me a powerful king” I let out a slow breath, tilting my head slightly, “And now, if I want to put an end to this once

fingers twitched at my sides, my

how to stop that

I admitted. “I don’t know how to be a better person and lead a realm and I am so confused. I am so stuck. I want to feel the lightness I felt when I was a child. I don’t want

carry an answer. There

falling with the weight of everything I

I murmured, my voice steadier now, though the ache in my chest hadn’t lessened, “Wake up every

one day,” I continued, “I’ll come back here and tell you both that I finally

felt like a promise. One I wasn’t sure I could keep, but one I would try

if that day would ever come. Maybe I would always be searching, always be fighting against the parts of me that felt too much like him. Maybe I would never

the first time, I thought maybe–just maybe–it

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Chapter 262

and for a brief second, I almost imagined that she was here. That she could hear me. That if I closed my eyes, I would feel

hard, blinking against the

buzzed in my

stillness, grounding

my head slightly before pulling it out, my brows

A text.

scanning the words.

you refuse to stay dead and I know you hate this sentimental bullshit, but you’re invited to my wedding.

a flicker of amusement breaking through