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Lahat ng Kabanata ng FALLING FOR MR FROST: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

108 Kabanata

51

FROST POVAs I continued looking up at the sky that was completely engulfed in darkness now. I couldn’t stop my mind from assessing the very questions I was too afraid to ask.What really was the worst that could happen if I told the truth? War, maybe. Conflict—undeniable. And my father’s wrath and disappointment would be inevitable.And what was the worst that could happen if I didn’t?A lifetime of lying. Of forcing myself to be something I wasn’t. Of never knowing love—real love—the kind that came from being truly seen and accepted for who I was.I felt my chest tighten and my hands ball into fists at my sides.Yeah.Didn’t sound any better.And this war everyone was so afraid of—what was it even based on? Generations-old grudges that no one could truly explain or trace anymore.Territory disputes that should have been settled a long time ago. Pride, stubbornness and the weight of “we’ve always been enemies”—a belief that no one even bothered to question.My father and Boreas had d

52

FROST POV I clenched my jaw to stop my body from trembling all over. I stared at the door Seraphina had walked out of.Things went worse than I’d expected.But she was right, wasn’t she?What I was doing was stupid. I was really throwing away my responsibilities for selfish ideals, wasn’t I?My heart plummeted, and the walls seemed to cave in around me. It was suddenly too hard to breathe, my leg was shaking uncontrollably and my vision blurred.I didn’t want to let anyone down. I just wanted to be myself. Was that such an impossible wish? Was that too much to ask for?Maybe I should just go through with—“Caelan,” my head snapped towards the door to see Kieran standing there, looking worried. “What are you doing here by yourself?”I couldn’t find the words to respond. I just glanced away, not wanting to meet his eyes with all the

53

JACKSON'S POVI was still crying hard against the sheets when I heard the infirmary door open again and I jolted.I begged Maya that I didn’t need her to get the nurse . I was perfectly fine so I didn’t understand why she kept insisting.“Maya, I told you I don’t want to—” I started, wiping furiously at my face, but the voice that interrupted me wasn’t Maya’s.“Jackson?”Tammy.My stomach flipped in on itself.Of course. Because this day couldn’t possibly get any worse.I looked up to find her standing in the doorway, perfectly put together as always—soft pink cardigan, jeans that fit just right, her dark hair falling in those effortless waves that told you beauty wasn’t hard for her to achieve.She looked concerned, her eyebrows drawn together, her hands clutching her purse like a lifeline.How did she even know I was here? If anything, she was the last person I wanted to see while I was in this state. I didn’t have the energy to put on my usual facade.“Maya, could you give me and J

54

JACKSON POV“You’re not going to at least try to deny it. You’re not even bothered to at least pretend?” She said, shock still visible in her face.“What do you want me to say?” I asked tiredly. “That everything’s fine? That we have a future together? We both know that’s not true.”“I wanted you to at least care!” She was crying harder now, her voice breaking. “I wanted you to at least pretend that breaking my heart mattered to you!”“Of course it matters—”“Then why are you talking to me like I’m nothing?” She grabbed her purse, backing away toward the door. “Like I’m just some inconvenient problem you need to deal with?”I didn’t have an answer for that. Maybe because that’s exactly what she felt like in this moment—another complication in a life that was already falling apart right in front of me.And there was nothing I could do about it.“I’m done,” Tammy said, and there was finality in her voice now. “I’m done waiting for you to figure out what you want. I’m done being your safe

55

FROST POVPain.That was the first thing that registered in my mind as I slowly gained consciousness—a dull, throbbing ache radiating through every inch of my body.My skull felt like it had been split down the middle. My limbs numb and weak.I tried to move.But, agony exploded through me.A sharp gasp tore from my throat as I instinctively shifted my torso, only to feel something restraining me. My hands were bound tightly behind my back, the rope digging into my skin—raw and biting.I twisted my wrists but the binds only constricted. This wasn’t ordinary binding. I could feel it—the magic woven through the fibers, suppressing me, keeping my wolf caged and powerless.I forced my eyes open, blinking against the dim light. Harsh, unforgiving stone pressed beneath me.The air smelled ancient and damp. Thick with moss and something metallic.As my vision steadied, I scanned my surroundings and realized that I was in a cave.Rough, jagged walls loomed around me, barely illuminated by sc

56

FROST POV The words cut sharper than I wanted to admit.I felt something inside me shatter, some last desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, he would understand. That the bond between a father and a son would matter more than tradition.But looking at his face—cold, flat and utterly unmoved by my pain—I realized I’d been fooling myself.“What are you going to do with me?”Father turned to Elder Malachai and the smile that arched on his face sent shivers down my back.“You are to be banished.”I felt my blood run cold.“Banished?” I stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t—you can’t banish me. The pack needs—”“The pack needs a leader who will put them first,” Cassia interrupted. “Not a selfish child who would abandon his people to follow his deviant desires. We will not have an Alpha wh

57

FROST’S POVI fought. Goddess help me, I fought with everything I had in me. But it still wasn’t enough.It was never going to be enough.They brought me back to the cave, back to the circle of elders who looked at my struggle with cold satisfaction.“Bind him properly this time,” Malachai ordered. “We cannot have any more interruptions.”They forced me to my knees again, but this time they used chains instead of rope. Heavy iron chains etched with runes that burned against my skin.“Father!” I screamed, looking desperately for him in the crowd. “Father, please! Don’t let them do this! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’ll do whatever you want, I’ll marry her, I’ll do anything, just please don’t—”He was there, standing at the edge of the circle. I met his eyes, begging him without words to show me some mercy, some sign that I still mattered to him.But he turned away.Just turned and walked out of the cave.“No! Father, please! FATHER!”The elders resumed their chanting, louder now, more for

58

JACKSON’S POV“You’re well set to go now, Hayes. Your blood pressure has stabilized and the glucose should give you enough energy to get home safely.”The school nurse—Mrs. Patterson, a sweet old thing around her fifties maybe who’d seen me through countless minor injuries since the first year—gave me the gentlest of smiles as she removed the IV from my arm.I watched the needle slide out, barely feeling it.I guessed that my body was just too numb to feel anything really.“Thanks,” I mumbled, pressing the cotton she handed me against where she’d punctured.“Take it easy for the rest of the evening,” she advised, making notes on her clipboard. “You’re still recovering. Plenty of rest, fluids, and make sure you eat a proper meal. Your body needs it right now.”I nodded barely listening to a word she was saying. I gathered my things and tucked them away into my backpack.It felt heavier than usual as I slung it over my shoulder, everything in my body still sluggish and weak.Of course I

59

JACKSON’S POVI turned a corner and stopped dead in my tracks.The jewelry store. I’d passed it a hundred times before without really noticing it, just another shop in a long row of them.But now, with the evening light catching on the displays in the window, I couldn’t look away.Flowers. Elaborate arrangements in crystal vases, roses and lilies and exotic blooms I couldn’t name.And beside them, jewelry—necklaces and bracelets and rings that sparkled under the lights like captured stars. Like the roses Frost had brought me.Like the chocolate he’d saved up his first paycheck to buy. Like the way his eyes had lit up when he’d presented them to me, so proud, so hopeful, so utterly convinced that he could make me happy.Before he’d decided happiness wasn’t worth the risk. That I wasn’t worth the risk.My throat tightened up and my vision blurred, trying desperately to stop the tears threatening to fall.And suddenly I was moving again, faster this time, my feet carrying me away from th

60

JACKSON’S POVThey’d seen everything. The destroyed apartment, the evidence of whatever breakdown I’d had. And now I’d have to explain it.Explain why I’d trashed my own place, why I hadn’t been answering their calls, why I’d completely ghosted them after the dinner party disaster.How was I supposed to do that?Mom, Dad, I fell in love with a supernatural being who can create ice and has amnesia, and then he broke my heart because he loves me too much to let me be in danger.Yeah.That would go just perfect.My chest tightened with a new kind of panic, different from the grief that had been consuming me only moments ago.This was the panic of impending doom, of having to face questions I had no answers for, of disappointing people who’d always expected better from me.I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready for their concerned faces, their questions that would feel like accusations, their inevitable suggestions about getting back together with Tammy and getting my life back on track.

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