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MARA POV
The air turned to glass. Every second cracked like it was about to shatter.
Amara's trembling hand was still on his—gentle, pleading—yet Chris didn't even flinch. His jaw tightened, veins pressing against his neck as the storm inside him raged louder than the alarms.
He slowly turned, his voice low… deadly calm.
"Remove your hand."
"My King…" she whispered. "Please—look around you. This isn't control. This is chaos. This isn't you—"
His eyes snapped to hers.
"I said remove it."
That tone. It froze us all.
Even Soren—battle-hardened, unshakable Soren—lowered his weapon and looked away.
Amara's hand dropped, but she didn't step back. Her tears gleamed under the red light as she whispered, "Chris, you're hurting the people you swore to protect. I'm begging you—"
"Begging?"
He barked a short, humorless laugh and turned toward the main console.
"You think I built an empire so you could beg me to spare it?"
"Chris!"
He slammed his fist down.
Monitors shattered. Sparks exploded, dancing across the floor.
"You disobeyed me!" he roared, the room shaking with his voice.
"I told you to stay out of this lockdown. Yet here you are, walking into my command chamber like it's your garden! You don't get to defy the King and then—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his breath sharp and uneven. His glare fell on Soren and me standing behind her.
"And you two… You let her in?"
Soren straightened, chest heavy with guilt. "She insisted, my lord. She—"
"Silence!"
Chris's rage cracked the air.
"Do you think loyalty means standing by weakness? She's the Queen, not some soldier to act on emotion!"
I wanted to speak, but one glance from him crushed my courage.
Then Amara took a slow step forward.
"I'm your wife, Chris. Your partner. I'm not here as your subject—I'm here as your heart."
He laughed again, bitter this time.
"My heart?" He stepped closer until their foreheads almost touched. "If you were my heart, you'd understand that power doesn't bend for emotion. The empire doesn't need love—it needs order."
She looked up at him, voice trembling but fierce.
"And what about me, Chris? Don't I need you?"
His silence was colder than any answer.
Then—he turned away.
Back to his console. Back to the empire. Back to his madness.
He didn't even look at her when he said it:
"Leave. All of you."
Soren glanced at me. We both hesitated.
But Amara… she didn't move.
She stood there, broken but proud, staring at the man who once kissed her like she was air itself—
and now treated her like a trespasser in her own kingdom.
"Chris…" she whispered one last time, voice cracking. "How dare you forget who you are."
He didn't turn around.
The lockdown lights dimmed. The alarms faded into a hum.
But the silence that followed was heavier than any war.
— To be continued…