Chapter 10 - CHAPTER 10: THE REJECTION (PART 2)

The word "No" still hung in the air. Not as a sound anymore but as a force. A finality that pressed down on everything, crushing what little remained of the fragile thread that had held Seraphina upright. Her chest tightened, but she did not break. Not yet. Her gaze remained locked onto Draven, even as something deep inside her began to crack. Not loudly. Not visibly. But internally slow, precise fractures spreading through the bond that had begun to awaken against her will. Draven's expression did not soften. If anything, it hardened further, as though the acknowledgment of the bond had sharpened his resolve instead of weakening it. His voice came again lower now. Colder. Absolute. "You do not belong to me." The words were not shouted. They were worse. They were deliberate. Each one placed with intention, as if he were severing something piece by piece rather than destroying it all at once. The bond inside her flared in response. Not with acceptance but with resistance. A desperate, instinctive surge that tried to hold onto something that was already slipping away. Seraphina's breath hitched sharply, her fingers twitching at her sides as the sensation intensified. Pain. Not physical in the usual sense but something deeper. More invasive. The kind of pain that did not stay in one place. It spread. It pulsed. It pushed against her ribs, her chest, her throat, as though her entire body was being forced to reject something that had been trying to settle within her. Draven's gaze remained fixed on her. Watching. Not with cruelty. Not with emotion. But with absolute detachment. As if confirming that his words were doing exactly what they were meant to do. Seraphina swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly when she finally spoke, though she fought to keep it steady. "You feel it." It was not a question. It was a statement. A challenge. A last attempt to anchor reality against the storm crashing through her. For a brief second just a fraction something flickered in his eyes again. That same awareness from before. The same recognition. But it was gone almost immediately. Replaced with control. With restraint. With something colder than indifference. "I feel nothing that matters," he replied. The words landed with precision. Not loud. Not dramatic. But devastating. The bond reacted instantly. Violently. As though something inside her had been struck directly. A sharp, tearing sensation spread through her chest, radiating outward in waves that made her vision blur for a moment. She inhaled sharply, her control slipping. but she forced herself to remain standing. Because if she fell now everything would confirm what he was saying. And she refused to let that happen. Lysa watched from the side, her expression shifting into satisfaction. The crowd had gone silent again but this time, it was different. This silence carried weight. This was the silence of confirmation. Of witnessing something final. Draven took another step closer. Now there was no distance between them that could be ignored. His presence pressed into her space, overwhelming her senses. The bond surged again, reacting to proximity but this time, it did not feel like connection. It felt like instability. Like something being forced into a place where it did not belong. Seraphina's breathing became shallow. Her body was beginning to react uncontrollably. Not from fear but from the strain of the bond itself. Draven's voice lowered further, becoming quieter but more dangerous. "Whatever you are feeling," he said slowly, "it is not mutual." The words were precise. Final. A clean severance in intention, even if the bond itself still resisted. That was when it happened. The bond snapped. Not completely at first but enough. Enough to send a violent shock through her entire body. Seraphina gasped, her hand instinctively rising to her chest as a sharp, tearing pain exploded within her. It felt like something inside her had been pulled apart violently, without warning. Her knees nearly gave way, but she caught herself just in time, her entire body trembling as she fought to stay upright. The bond what had been forming, awakening, forcing itself into existence was now being torn. And her body knew it. Her heart pounded erratically, her breath uneven, her vision momentarily blurring as the sensation overwhelmed her. This was not just emotional. This was physical. Her body reacted to the severing as though it were being wounded. Draven watched her. Completely. His gaze did not waver. He saw everything the tremor in her hands, the way her breath broke, the way her posture faltered but he did not move to stop it. Did not soften. Did not intervene. Because he had chosen this. Seraphina forced her head up, locking eyes with him even as her body struggled to remain steady. Her voice came out strained but clear. "Then why…" Her words faltered as another wave hit her, forcing her to pause, her fingers tightening against her chest. "Why does it hurt like this?" For a moment just a moment the space between them shifted. The question was not weakness. It was raw truth. Draven's eyes narrowed slightly again. Not with emotion. But with something else. Something deeper. Something controlled. "Because," he said quietly, "you are resisting what is already being denied." The finality in his tone was unmistakable. There was no hesitation. No opening. No compromise. The bond inside her surged one last time desperate, violent, unstable. It pushed against her in a final attempt to exist. To hold on. To be acknowledged. But this time there was no response from the other side. The connection… cracked. Not fully broken. But shattered enough that Seraphina felt it like a rupture inside her. Her breath caught sharply, her vision flickering as the pain intensified beyond control. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as her body finally gave in. Her legs weakened. Her strength failed. And as the last thread of resistance within her snapped Seraphina collapsed.