Jax looked at her face.
Read every crease of pain. Every tremor of betrayal.
He understood what was going through her mind.
A stranger had appeared. Helped her. Fought for her. Cared for her. Married her. Showed the world his love for her—whether fake or real.
And then shattered everything.
From her words, he could guess what she was thinking now.
’He’s a spy. A human infiltrator. He needed sothing from . From my family. From the demon realm.’
Jax’s thoughts turned inward.
’I admit... I followed her for my own entertainnt. The thrill. The amusent.’
’But that doesn’t change the fact that I genuinely wanted to help her.’
’I freed her from her misery. . A complete stranger. She owes .’
’So why...’
He looked at her sobbing form.
’Why do I feel guilty?’
’Why do I look like the villain here?’
His hand moved on instinct. Reaching out to comfort her.
Then stopped midway.
Hesitation gripped him.
But then he noticed sothing.
She wasn’t furious.
She wasn’t screaming for guards. Wasn’t calling him a spy. Wasn’t threatening his life.
She was crying.
Emotional. Broken. Vulnerable.
Even knowing he was human, her reaction was tears not rage.
Jax sighed.
He lowered himself to his knees.
Looking up at her from below. She still sat on the edge of the bed. Head bowed. Tears dripping onto her lap.
"Nerith."
His voice was soft. Stripped of its usual mockery.
"Tell where I went wrong."
She didn’t look up.
"Tell what YOU would have done in my place."
Silence. Just quiet sobbing.
"I was brought into your world by magic. YOUR kind’s magic. Demons who were killing MY people."
His voice carried no accusation. Just facts.
"I arrived here completely clueless. With one of my students—the girl you t before."
He shifted on his knees.
"And then there was you. Proposing marriage out of nowhere. To a stranger you’d just t."
His eyes searched her bowed head.
"I even told you. I have soone I love. Soone I plan to marry soday."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"But you didn’t listen. You said it was just pretend. A temporary arrangent."
He exhaled slowly.
"I won’t lie to you, Nerith. I found a thrill in this. An adventure. So I followed along."
"And then your mother told everything. The truth behind your desperation."
His voice softened further.
"Look... I’m not a kind person who helps others based on whether they’re good or bad. I’m not so hero of justice swooping in to save the innocent."
His jaw tightened.
"I am the most evil. A side of you haven’t seen. A side that would make you run screaming."
"But..."
He paused.
"I don’t know why my heart told to fight for you. And even now, opening up like this—I don’t understand why I feel guilty."
His hands clenched on his knees.
"I KNOW I’m not at fault here. I know that. And yet..."
He looked at the fallen horns on the floor.
"And the marriage? How was I supposed to know that a stupid kiss would seal us together? That I was binding myself to your kind soul with chains I didn’t even know existed?"
His eyes returned to her.
"Tell , Nerith. Where was I wrong? What would you have done in my stead?"
The sobbing slowed.
Then stopped.
Her face was a ss. Tears and ruined makeup. Swollen eyes. Trembling lips.
But she finally looked at him.
"You’re lying to again."
Jax blinked.
"What do you an—"
"Liar."
Her voice ca out shaky. Cute, almost. Each word sending more tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Liar, liar."
Then her voice dropped.
Soft. Certain.
"You said you’re evil. But you’re not."
She shook her head slowly.
"How can an evil person do what you did? How can soone truly wicked risk his own life protecting a stranger?"
Her red eyes bore into his.
"And not just any stranger. A DEMON. A race your people consider enemies. Rivals. Monsters."
Her voice cracked.
"How can an evil man reveal his true identity knowing it might get him killed just to be honest with soone like ?"
She laughed bitterly.
"You aren’t evil, Jax."
Her hands gripped the fabric of her dress.
"The real evil is sitting right in front of you."
Jax’s eyes widened.
"I did the most evil thing. I DRAGGED you into this. My ss. My problems. My selfish desires."
Tears resud their flow.
"I put your life on the line. Again and again. And what did I receive as punishnt?"
She looked at her lap.
"Kindness. Care. Protection."
Her voice broke.
"Things I didn’t deserve."
Silence hung between them.
Then Jax smiled.
"You can never be evil for choosing yourself."
She looked up.
"I told you that before, rember?"
He reached out. Gently. And this ti his hand didn’t stop.
It rested on her knee.
"So stop with this sad sobbing girl act. Show that side I heard about from your mother."
He saw her eyes watering again.
Quickly, he added—
"Don’t tell your hubby doesn’t deserve to see that?"
A small smile broke through her tears.
Just a flicker.
Then it vanished.
And the tears returned.
"Jax..."
Her voice was different now. Heavy. Final.
"I think you should go."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Go away from here. Away from all these threats."
She took a shuddering breath.
"Go away from my sight."
Her eyes t his.
"I don’t want to see you anymore."
Jax studied her face.
She wasn’t joking.
This wasn’t so dramatic play for attention. Every word carried weight. Every syllable was drenched in genuine emotion.
So he fell back on his defense chanism.
Sarcasm.
"Ouch."
He pressed his hand to his chest dramatically.
"That hurts."
She didn’t react.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t roll her eyes.
Just continued.
"I was a fool."
Her voice trembled.
"A fool for thinking I’d finally found my dream prince."
She laughed at herself.
"I’m too childish. I thought of my husband as a prince. Like in the demon tales mother used to read ."
Her eyes grew distant.
"A prince who would co for . Fight the bad guys. Remove every obstacle in his path. All while holding my hand."
She touched her lips.
"And at the end... a kiss to claim ."
The tears flowed harder.
"THIS is why I was broken, Jax. This is why I was crying. Not because you deceived ."
She shook her head.
"Because of my own selfishness."
Her hands clutched her dress until her knuckles went white.
"I thought of you as MINE. A thing I could claim. Sothing I could own. Without even knowing you."
She looked at him.
Really looked.
"Whatever you did from the start, Jax—I was drawn to you. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But my heart went crazy."
Her voice softened.
"First, I liked you for your courage. Back when our soldiers were beating those people. You stood there without fear. Spoke without hesitation."
A sad smile crossed her face.
"Then I liked you more when we talked. Your guts. Your humor. You were a complete package."
Her smile faded.
"And then... the liking turned into sothing dangerous. Sothing I’d never felt before."
She whispered the word like it was poison.
"Love."
Jax went still.
"In the sanctum, you did sothing to . Magic that wasn’t magic. You didn’t just stand by my side—you told to be SELFISH."
Her eyes found his.
"And when I finally had the courage to be selfish. The courage to ask you to be..."
She stopped.
Couldn’t finish.
"Then this happened."
She gestured weakly at the horns on the floor. At the truth that now lay exposed between them.
"Every ti I see you, I want to close the gap between us."
Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"Every ti I see your face, I rember. The broken body covered in blood. The man who could barely stand. Who should have been screaming in agony."
Her tears fell onto her clenched hands.
"But instead... he smiled. Told everything would be alright."
She looked away.
"So please, Jax. Just leave."
Her shoulders shook.
"Before my mind and heart explode."
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