Renzo’s POV
Ronan shook his head slowly, like the motion alone could dislodge the words I’d just spoken from the air.
“That can’t be true,” he said, voice writhed in denial.
His voice wasn’t loud at first. It was hollow. Cracked.
“Ronan,” I started, stepping toward him, instinctively wanting to anchor him before he unraveled like he was threatening to. “Listen to ....”
“No.” He cut off sharply, his head snapping up, eyes blazing now. “No. That can’t be true.”
His voice rose with every word, panic and fury tangling together.
“That can’t be true because if it is....” He dragged a hand down his face, breathing hard. “If it’s true, then it wasn’t Jade who lied to us, it wasn’t Jade who deceived us. It was Linda.”
The na sounded poisonous coming out of his mouth.
“And that would an she deliberately deceived us,” he continued, pacing now, his steps erratic. “It would an she watched us turn on Jade and did nothing. It would an she let us believe the worst.”
His voice broke.
“It would an we’ve been wrong this whole ti.”
The room felt smaller with every sentence.
“It would an we’ve been hating her,” Ronan went on, his words coming faster now, sharper. “Bullying her. Humiliating her. Making her suffer for sothing she never even did.”
He stopped pacing and turned to , eyes wild.
“It would make us the villain here in her story"
He inhaled deeply, shaking his head again like the truth might fall away if he refused to look at it.
“It can’t be true, Renzo,” he said, quieter now. “It can’t. You have to be mistaken.”
I wished..... goddess, I wished that I was.
But I wasn’t.
I knew what I’d felt. What my wolf had recognized without hesitation. My instincts were older than logic, deeper than denial, and they didn’t lie.
“She’s a virgin,” I said again, just as firmly. “I know she is.”
Saying it hurt.
Because if it was true, and it was, then it ant we had been the villains in her story all along.
I turned to Ryder.
“What about you?” I asked him. “You think I’m mistaken too?”
Ryder t my gaze. For a mont, I thought I saw doubt flicker there, real doubt.
Then he shook his head.
“It can’t be true, Renzo,” he said slowly. “Because if it is... then everything we thought we knew is wrong.”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
Fine.
I straightened.
“Then we’re not standing here debating it.”
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my car keys, and clenched them tight.
“Follow .”
Neither of them argued.
We moved as one, tension thick between us as we left our common room, walked through the silent halls of the mansion, and stepped out into the cold night air.
The engine roared to life.
I drove fast.
Maybe too fast.
Streetlights blurred past as my thoughts raced ahead of the car. I wasn’t angry, not yet. I was just focused. Locked in.
“Are you going to Linda’s?” Ryder asked from the back seat.
I shook my head, eyes never leaving the road.
“If Linda lied to us,” I said flatly, “she won’t admit it. Not without us getting proof to corner her first.”
Ronan leaned forward. “Then where are we going?”
I slowed abruptly, turning into a quiet residential street.
I stopped in front of a large, well kept house.
“This is John’s place,” I said. “Captain of the basketball team.”
Ronan stiffened. “The one I punched.”
“Exactly.”
We got out of the car.
The house was dark. Silent. It was late in the night, but for it was also too late for civility, too late for patience.
I walked straight to the door and kicked it in.
The crack echoed through the night.
We stepped inside.
Footsteps thundered from upstairs. A light flicked on.
John appeared at the top of the stairs, his lip bruised, eyes wide with shock.
“What the hell is wrong with you people? Why are you guys here” he almost yelled. “You kicked down my door! If my parents wake up....”
“What if they wake up?” Ryder cut in coolly. “What are they going to do?”
Ronan smiled without humor. “Beat us? Like I beat you?”
John swallowed hard.
“Please,” he said quickly. “I don’t want any trouble. Just tell why you’re here.”
I stepped forward.
“We just need answers,” I said calmly. “Have you ever slept with Jade?”
John blinked. “What?”
“Answer the question, have you ever fucked Jade?” I said, my voice low.
“No!” he said imdiately. “Of course not. You guys literally punched tonight for almost touching her. I’ve never slept with her.”
Ryder frowned. “Then what happened a year ago?”
John looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“A year ago,” Ronan snapped, his impatience seeping through. “After her father was killed for treason. You and your team were at a hotel downtown. Jade was there too.”
John’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Oh. That.”
My heart pounded.
“Well?” I pressed.
He exhaled. “Soone called us. and a few of the guys. Told us to be at the hotel, wait in the room for thirty minutes no matter what, and we’d get paid.”
“How much?” Ryder asked.
“A lot,” John admitted. “Enough that it sounded sketchy, but we went anyway.”
“And Jade?” I asked.
“She showed up too,” he said. “Looked confused, honestly. Like she’d gotten a similar ssage.”
“And then?” Ronan demanded.
“Nothing,” John said quickly. “We waited and we.... we made a little fun of her. Then she left after a while. That was it. I swear.”
I felt it then, the last piece clicking into place.
I stepped back.
Ronan’s face drained of color.
Ryder closed his eyes.
Soone had set her up.
Deliberately.
Paid witnesses. Crafted timing. It was the perfect lie.
And we had believed it.
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