Chapter 33

Rae

I smiled at Von after those words left my lips and said.

Von didn’t reply. He just stared at me, shock flickering in his eyes. Honestly, I was a little surprised by my own actions, too. But not too surprised.

After everything Von had been through, I figured he at least needed someone to talk to. Betrayal by a stranger was one thing, but betrayal by someone you trusted—that cut deeper.

I knew that feeling all too well. I could still remember how much Kayla’s actions had hurt me. But Von’s case was worse. Landon had been his friend.

The feeling of the tray leaving my hands caught my attention. I turned back, surprised to see that Von had taken it from me.

He sat down in one of the chairs stationed on the terrace.

“Finally you give in,” I said with a smile.

He didn’t say anything, his face as unreadable as ever. Typical Von—always guarded, never showing too much. But even with his blank expression, I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I don't know how I'm going to move past this," he muttered, almost to himself.

“You will," I reassured him. "You're the Hybrid King, remember?"

He let out a long sigh. “That doesn’t change the fact that I have an open wound that might never heal."

I hesitated before responding. "Every wound heals with time."

The words felt empty as I said them, almost like a lie. My mind wandered to my own wounds—the past that still haunted me.

Von lifted his gaze, studying me. "Are you sure?"

“Yeah," I replied quickly.

"So, you’re telling me you’ve healed from everything terrible you’ve been through?"

I fell silent.

Von tilted his head slightly, a knowing look in his eyes. "See?" he pointed out.

I cleared my throat. "I haven’t healed completely… but those terrible things don’t hurt as much anymore."

Von looked down at his food. "You know, this nice gesture of yours doesn’t mean you’re free from being my breeder.”

I groaned dramatically. "Come on! You didn’t have to bring that up and ruin our moment!

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, and for the first time, I saw him smile. A real, genuine smile. And damn, it was beautiful.

Without thinking, I blurted out, "You should smile more!"

Instantly, his face hardened, the moment disappearing like it had never existed. "Rae," he said, his voice sharp. "I think it’s best if you leave."*

I rolled my eyes, standing up."And the monster is back."

I saw the corner of his mouth twitch again as if he was fighting another smile. I grinned, walking out of the terrace and down the hallway.

The minute I was out of sight, I exhaled, my heart still racing. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I had just had a… sweet moment with Von. It felt unreal.

"Why are you smiling?"

Anna’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to her, trying to school my expression. "Nothing," I said quickly.

She raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I replied, but I could tell she wasn’t buying it.

"Did Von take the food?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Anna folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. "You’re acting kinda giddy."

I scoffed. "I just can’t believe Von and I had an actual conversation without trying to bite each other’s ears off."

Anna smirked. "There’s a first time for everything."

I chuckled. "I hope so."

***

The palace was quieter than usual when I woke up. It was strange—not the kind of silence that felt peaceful, but the kind that made me uneasy.

I decided to head down to breakfast. If Von had eaten last night, maybe he’d eat again this morning.

When I stepped into the dining hall, I found him already seated, picking at his food absentmindedly. The usual sharpness in his eyes was dull, his shoulders tense.

I hesitated for a second before walking up to him. "Morning."

He barely glanced at me. "Morning."

Okay, cold as ever.

I sat across from him and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. "So… did you actually sleep last night, or did you just brood in your study like some tragic novel character?"

Von shot me a look. "I don’t brood."

I raised a brow. "Mmhmm. Sure."

He exhaled, stabbing a piece of meat on his plate. "I didn’t sleep much."

"Figured," I muttered, taking a bite of the apple. "You’re thinking about Landon, aren’t you?"

Von stiffened, his grip on the fork tightening.

"You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to," I said quickly. "But keeping it all bottled up isn’t helping either."

He was silent for a moment, then finally spoke. "I just keep replaying it in my head. Every time I close my eyes, I see him. I hear him. The excuses. The lies.”

I set the apple down, leaning forward. "Von…"

His eyes darkened. "I should’ve killed him."

I swallowed. "But you didn’t."

He clenched his jaw. "And that was a mistake."

I studied him carefully. "You let him live because a part of you still saw him as your friend."

His gaze snapped to mine, something unreadable flickering in his expression.

"You don’t want to admit it," I continued, "but deep down, you wanted to believe he wasn’t completely beyond saving."

Von scoffed. "And look where that got me.”

"It got you a clear conscience," I countered. "You could’ve killed him, but you didn’t. That means something."

He didn’t respond.

After a moment, I sighed. "Look, Von. You don’t have to pretend like this didn’t affect you. No one’s expecting you to just get over it overnight."

He exhaled sharply. "I just don’t know how to move forward."

I gave him a small smile. "One step at a time."

Von shook his head. "That sounds exhausting."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well, unfortunately, life doesn’t come with shortcuts."

He smirked slightly. "You always have an answer for everything, don’t you?"

I grinned. "I try."