Jade’s POV

For a second, I think my mind is playing tricks on me.

That’s the only explanation that makes sense.

Because standing there, just a few steps away from me in the middle of a crowded street, are the last people I ever expected to see again.

Ryder.

Renzo.

Ronan.

My breath catches so sharply it almost hurts.

No.

No, no, no.

My fingers tighten around the grocery bag until the plastic digs into my skin. My other hand goes still halfway through adjusting the weight on my arm.

I can’t move.

I can’t think.

I can only stare.

They look different too, but not in the same way I do.

They look exhausted. Worse than exhausted. Like they haven’t slept properly in days. Like something inside them has been tearing apart slowly and they’ve just kept going anyway.

Ryder takes a step forward.

“Jade,” he says.

My name in his voice does something dangerous to my chest.

Something that feels too much like relief.

And that’s what scares me the most.

Because relief means I still care.

And caring is what got me here.

My body reacts before my mind does.

I step back.

One step.

Then another.

“No,” I whisper.

It comes out too soft. Too broken.

Ryder stops immediately, like he can feel me slipping away.

“Jade, wait,” Renzo says quickly.

Ronan moves slightly to the side, like he’s trying not to corner me, but every direction suddenly feels like a trap.

My heartbeat is loud in my ears.

This can’t be real.

It can’t.

“You’re not here,” I say shakily.

Ryder’s face tightens. “We are.”

I shake my head hard.

“No. No, you’re not. You can’t be.”

My throat burns.

Because if they are real, then everything I survived becomes real too.

The hunger.

The nights alone.

The fear.

Linda.

The threats.

The way I had to learn how to breathe without anyone holding me together.

Ryder takes another cautious step.

I flinch.

Instantly.

“Don’t come closer,” I say sharply.

It’s louder this time.

People nearby turn their heads.

I don’t care.

My chest is tightening now, and I don’t know if it’s panic or something worse.

Ronan raises his hands slightly.

“Jade, please,” he says. “Just listen to us.”

Listen.

That word almost makes me laugh.

Almost.

Because I did listen once.

I listened when they said Linda was harmless.

I listened when they believed a forged letter over me.

I listened when I was standing right in front of them and they still chose doubt.

And it cost me everything.

“I did listen,” I say, voice shaking.

Ryder’s expression changes immediately. “We know. We know you did, and we were wrong.”

Wrong.

That word is too small.

Too late.

I take another step back.

My bag slips slightly and I almost drop it, but I catch it at the last second.

My hand is shaking now.

All of it is coming back at once.

The stable.

My mother.

The silence after.

The way no one believed me then either.

My throat tightens painfully.

“You don’t get to say that,” I whisper.

Ronan looks like I’ve hit him.

“Jade, please,” he says again. “We found out everything. We know about Linda. We know about the letter. We know she lied.”

At that, something inside me snaps.

Because of course they know now.

Now that it doesn’t matter anymore.

Now that I’m gone.

Now that I’ve already learned how to survive without them.

My voice rises before I can stop it.

“You know?” I repeat, sharper. “You know now?”

Ryder steps forward again, but stops himself halfway when I flinch again.

“Yes,” he says quickly. “We know. We were wrong, we were manipulated, we were stupid, we never should have believed her over you.”

Stupid.

Manipulated.

Wrong.

All words that don’t undo what happened.

My breathing becomes uneven.

My grip on the bag tightens until it hurts.

“You didn’t just believe her over me,” I say slowly. “You chose her over me.”

Silence.

That lands heavier than anything else.

Ronan’s jaw tightens.

Ryder looks like he wants to argue, but he can’t.

Because it’s true.

I laugh once, but it breaks halfway.

“I told you,” I continue, voice shaking harder now. “I tried to tell you. I tried so many times. And every time, you looked at me like I was the problem.”

Ryder’s face twists. “Jade, we didn’t know the extent of what she was doing.”

“That’s not my fault,” I snap.

My voice echoes slightly down the street.

People are definitely staring now.

I don’t care.

Something inside me is spilling over.

The dam I’ve been holding together since I left.

“I was threatened,” I say suddenly.

All three of them go still.

Ronan’s eyes sharpen instantly. “What?”

My chest rises and falls too fast.

“She told me to lie,” I continue, words spilling now that I’ve started. “She told me to say the baby wasn’t yours. She said if I didn’t, she would kill me. She would kill my baby.”

The silence that follows is heavy.

Ryder’s face goes pale.

Ronan’s expression shifts sharply.

“Jade...” he says slowly.

“And I believed her,” I cut in, voice cracking. “Because why wouldn’t I? I’ve seen what happens when people here decide someone doesn’t matter.”

My throat burns now.

Images flash too fast.

My mother.

The stable.

The lies.

The way I stood alone.

“I lost my mother because no one listened,” I say quietly. “And I wasn’t going to lose my baby too.”

The words hang there.

Sharp.

Real.

Ryder looks like he’s been physically hit.

Ronan’s hands clench at his sides.

Renzo takes a step forward.

Carefully.

“Jade,” he says softly. “We didn’t know she threatened you like that. If we had—”

“If you had what?” I interrupt sharply. “Believed me?”

Silence again.

That answer is already written on their faces.

My chest aches.

Because this is the part I didn’t want to feel.

The part that hurts more than anger.

“I told you things were wrong,” I whisper. “I told you something wasn’t right. And you still chose her.”

Ryder shakes his head quickly. “We didn’t choose her over you. We were blind, we were—”

“You didn’t choose me,” I repeat, louder now.

My voice breaks on the last word.

And that’s when it happens. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The emotion I’ve been holding down finally spills over.

Tears blur my vision.

I hate it immediately.

I wipe at my face quickly, angry at myself for breaking like this in front of them.

But it’s too late.

The damage is already done.

Ronan steps forward again, slower this time.

“Jade, please,” he says quietly. “We’re here now. We’re not letting you go again.”

That makes something inside me twist painfully.

Because I want to believe him.

God, I want to.

But wanting doesn’t erase what happened.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I say shakily. “Apology? Forgiveness? To just forget everything?”

Ryder steps closer again, careful this time.

“We want you back,” he says.

That’s the worst thing he could have said.

Because it makes my chest ache in a way I don’t know how to survive.

Back.

Like I can just go back to being who I was before everything broke.

Before I learned how it feels to be disposable.

My voice drops.

“I still love you.”

All three of them freeze completely.

Even the noise of the street feels distant now.

My hands tremble harder.

Tears spill again, but I don’t stop them this time.

Because there’s no point.

“That’s the worst part,” I whisper.

Ryder whispers my name like it hurts.

But I don’t know if I can come closer again.

Not after everything.

Not yet.

Not like this.