Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates-Chapter 694-You Broke My Heart, Dear Husband

Helanie:

I had stayed in a hotel room for the night with my mother. And I felt really weird doing so. It had been such a long time since I felt like I actually had a mother. From the little she told me, I had a feeling there was more to why she had acted so cold toward me in the past. Now she had fallen asleep after comforting me, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t sleep at all.

I left the room and started wandering around the lobby before heading outside to take a stroll. It was within the pack, so it was definitely safe. There weren’t going to be many Zharns around, if any had even managed to sneak in. Pack security had tightened around the borders after the Zharn had shown up.

I had my arms folded over my chest, my eyes on the moon, as I wondered how it all ended up like this, if I would ever be able to forgive Emmet. I was so angry. Still so angry. And it wasn’t only because I believed Emmet had done this to me. I had been willing to forgive Kaye before. But it was different with Kaye and Emmet. Because while Emmet forgot everyone else, he remembered that he had Azura.

That’s when I began to recall some of the other things Emmet had told me. He said she had cursed him. So what if he really had lost his memory, and the only reason he remembered Azura was because of the curse? Because that was another curse. So maybe it wasn’t that he missed her. I tried to argue with myself, my head hurting.

’And what if he said all that about the broken curse because he knew he had pushed us into the well and he was trying to come up with an explanation for later, when we found out?’ My wolf didn’t help at all.

Thinking that made me take a deep breath and let it out. ’I guess it’s up to me who I choose to trust.’

’So, who do you trust?’ Cora asked.

"Cora, I believe what Emmet said. She cursed him. When he pushed me, he—" I trailed off.

"He only remembered Azura. So whatever it was, it made him sacrifice me and my baby. It told him that the only person he knew–Azura—would come back if he got rid of me," I mumbled, continuing my thoughts.

However, Cora had a different take on it.

"Who is ’it’? It is himself. Doesn’t that make him a bad person? Let’s just say he forgot everything. He wasn’t in his animal state. He was still very much alive in human form. So if he chose to hurt another being just to bring back his lover, doesn’t that make him awful? Because the curse didn’t ask him to kill you. Neither curse required him to get rid of you. That was his choice. One curse made him forget everyone. The other made him remember Azura."

’Oh my God, I’m losing my mind.’ I groaned.

Cora was right. And once again, she confused me. I don’t know what to do. I’m just so upset. My baby was lost—so that one psycho, clingy ex could come back.

I grunted, "and then there is my husband," I hissed. I almost said it out loud.

That’s when I felt someone behind me.

"Helanie, I’m so sorry."

I turned to see Norman standing there, looking so defeated.

"It should have been you telling me the truth, Norman. I thought we had that kind of connection." I didn’t have the strength left in my body to yell or scream at him again. I had already done that. Now, I just wanted to make my point. I wanted him to understand how I was feeling.

He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his index fingers subtly scratched by the thumb of both hands. I watched him take a deep breath, then raise his head and tilt his face.

"I guess I just didn’t want you to judge my brother. I was torn between my love for you and for him, Helanie. When I didn’t want you to marry him, it was because of the fact that—."

Now that I knew why they were so reluctant to let me be with Emmet, I felt like a fool.

"You had all the time in the world to tell me why," I hissed, losing my calm again.

No matter how hard I tried to stay composed, the memories always came flooding back, and with them, the sense of betrayal. They could have told me. They should have told me.

And then another thought rushed to the back of my mind was that Emmet had been so desperate to marry me. Was it because he was afraid the truth would come out, and he wouldn’t be able to marry me if it did?

I was dying to see Emmet, to look him in the eyes and scream in his face. But I wasn’t even sure if I could do it. Because every time he stood in front of me, I just felt this deep respect for him.

So maybe this time it would be different.

I didn’t know and I wasn’t sure.

"I was trying to stop you from marrying Emmet because I knew that when you found out he was the one who pushed you, you’d question me for not stopping you!" Norman yelled, feeling like he had some unspoken feelings he needed to air out as well.

"Oh really? What a philosophy," I snapped. "Then you should have fucking told me! How the heck was I supposed to know? You weren’t telling me, and neither was Maximus. So how would I know? Instead of telling me the truth, you let me think I was this disloyal mate who wanted to be with her husband’s brother. You made me feel so guilty. I asked and I asked. It’s fucking funny that the whole time I was the one suffering because I couldn’t tell Emmet why I couldn’t marry him, while at the same time, you wouldn’t tell me why I shouldn’t. Both you and he were upset with me, when in reality, I was the victim." I yelled, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"If you cared so much, then instead of making me feel guilty, you should’ve told me what your brother was guilty of, and let me make my own decision!" I screamed, furious at how much they had tried to control my life while making me feel like a guilty one at the same time.

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