From Substitute To Queen novel Chapter 149

Chapter 149

“Caelan, please listen to me… I fought to control my sobs. I know you’re lying. I can feel it. The mate bond doesn’t lie.”

“Your eyes when you look at me, your touch, your heartbeat-none of that was fake.”

“Whatever’s really happening, whatever you’re trying to protect me from, we can face it together.”

I’m not afraid of anything as long as you’re with me.”

“You’re deluding yourself, Sable. His voice remained ice-cold, but I caught the tiniest tremor beneath the surface.

“I’m exactly what everyone warned you about-a playboy who toys with women’s hearts.”

“You’ll find someone who truly deserves you. Someone who can give you the peaceful life you deserve.”

“Forget about me, Sable. You’re better off without me.”

“Caelan, please don’t hang up-*

“Goodbye, Sable. Take care of yourself.”

The line went dead.

I immediately hit redial, but the call went straight to voicemail. Again and again, I tried calling back, but he’d turned off his phone.

“Caelan! CAELAN!” I screamed at the silent device.

The phone tumbled from my shaking hands onto the rumpled sheets. I curled into a ball, hugging my knees to my chest as if I could hold myself together by sheer force.

The tears came in devastating waves, each sob tearing through my chest like broken glass. I bit down hard on the pillowcase, trying to muffle the sound so Dad wouldn’t hear me falling apart in the hallway.

My head wound throbbed with each violent sob, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony ripping through my

heart.

I pressed my face deeper into the pillow, letting my tears soak through the cotton fabric as my world crumbled around me.

Everything we’d shared-every kiss, every whispered “I love you,” every moment of tenderness-had it all been a lie? Had I been nothing more than a pawn in some elaborate revenge scheme?

Caelan’s POV

I stared at the phone screen where ‘Call Ended glared back at me.

Gutted doesn’t begin to describe the pain tearing through my chest. It was as if someone had taken a rusty blade and carved out my heart piece by piece, then poured salt on the wound, followed by alcohol.

What did I just say to her? I told her it was all fuke, all a game, all revenge…

Before answering her call, I had practiced countless times in front of the minor. Deep breaths. Stay calm. Don’t let Sable detect any

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Chapter 149

hint of deception.

The moment I heard her voice, I nearly crumbled.

“Caelan? Is that you? Her voice carried worry and fear, but also concern for my safety. That tenderness sent an electric current of agony through me, like morning dew falling on red-hot metal-instantly evaporating but leaving a burn mark.

While speaking those cruel words, I gripped the letter opener on my desk. Its sharp edge cut into my palm.

With each syllable of “I never loved you,” I tightened my grip, twisting the handle, widening the wound. The blade touched my wrist bone, but the physical pain brought a strange relief, as if it could somehow diminish the torment in my soul.

“Everything was just an act. A game.”

Blood flowed freely as I continued to press, rotating the blade within muscle tissue. My hand went numb, but I kept twisting.

When her sobs came through the phone, I wanted nothing more than to rush to her side and hold her close. To tell her it was all lies. To explain I’d sacrifice anything for her-even my life.

Instead, I clutched that knife until my hand was shredded, the blade nearly embedded in bone. Blood soaked my shirt sleeve completely, dripping onto the floor where it pooled in a dark crimson puddle.

Storm’s voice thundered in my head: “You complete bastard! You hurt Sable! Did you hear her? She cried like a child whose entire world was stolen! You’re the biggest loser in history! Even Hitler had more humanity! I don’t want to be your wolf anymore! Just kill me! Mount me as a trophy in your heartbreak museum’! I might as well be dead since I’ve lost Esme-lost my mate! You undeserving piece of shit!”

Through our mate bond, Sable’s despair crashed over me in waves-a thousand times worse than my physical pain. It felt like my soul was being ripped from my body, sunburned, frozen, then hammered to pieces.

As Lycan King, my perception through the bond is stronger than most wolves’. More importantly, I can control this connection- make it one-directional.

Only I could sense her extreme emotions; she couldn’t perceive mine. I deliberately closed the emotional flow from my side.

If she felt my current agony, my internal struggle and bone-deep love for her, she’d immediately know I was lying. She’d know everything was to protect her. And that would put her in even greater danger.

That heartache transmitting through our bond felt like someone had thrust a serrated hunting knife into my chest, constantly twisting, pulling, and turning it.

I’d prefer being skinned alive to feeling this torment.

Now, I stared expressionlessly at my bleeding hand. The blade had left several deep cuts to the bone, flesh gaping open, blood continuously flowing and gathering on the desk before dripping over the edge. On the carpet, it formed a pattern like a blooming black rose.

I felt nothing.

Perhaps the inner pain was so intense it had numbed my physical senses. Or maybe as Lycan King, my healing abilities were already repairing the damage, temporarily shutting down nerve endings.

I picked up the blood stained letter opener and slowly pressed its tip against my left wrist, right over the vein.

Then I began to cut.

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11:54 Fri, 22 Aug PM.

Chapter 149

One slice. The blade opened skin, blood immediately beading up.

Two slices. Deeper into muscle, blood flow accelerating, snaking down my arm.

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Three slices. The tip touched the blue-green vein, and blood spurted out, tracing a graceful arc before landing on the pristine white wall like abstract art.

Blood instantly surged forward-no, a fountain-flowing down my arm, staining my shirt and pants. The warm liquid streamed between my fingers, dripping onto the floor with a rhythmic sound, creating a cruel music. I watched the bright red fluid and thought of Sable’s lip color, of her blush the first time we kissed.

Storm’s voice returned: “Good Lord! You think self-harm reduces your guilt? Can this pain compensate for what you’ve done to Sable? You’ll pay for this! Enjoy hell, where devils will hang you by your own intestines and use that knife in your hand to skin you inch by inch! Wait-the devils might reject scum like you. They have professional standards and don’t accept people worse than

themselves!”

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11:54 Fri, 22 Aug PM.

From Substitute To Queen