Roman’s POV
Then I asked again, my voice calm but firm, "Were you forced to do it?" There had to be another reason. "Keiren forced you right?"
She smirked, but I caught the glint of moisture in her eyes, the emotion she was desperately holding back.
"If you ask me to suck you off right now, I will," she said without hesitation. "That’s who I’ve always been. In fact, I could do it to all of you. I’m professional."
"I know you don’t mean that," I said.
Her gaze slid down toward my waist, bold and unapologetic. "Want me to prove it?"
I let out a helpless sigh, keeping my focus steady. "We’re trying to uncover the truth about Alice’s death."
The moment I said it, her expression froze.
"We want to believe you didn’t kill her intentionally," I repeated.
She didn’t react, as if frozen in time.
I glanced at the others, meeting Kael’s subtle nod, urging me to continue.
Turning back to her, I said, "In your interrogation report, you claimed you were trying to shoot the black wolf and protect Alice instead. There’s no black wolf in the video, but we want to trust you."
She let out a short, humorless scoff, her expression cutting. "I should have said dinosaur instead of black wolf, and maybe the bastard officer would have bought my story."
She was acting like everything now we knew was a lie and she was indeed the culprit.
When we truly wanted to trust her and wanted to find the truth, she didn’t want to. She had truly lost all hopes with life.
"We want to catch the true culprit behind Alice’s death. Don’t you want that too?" I asked again.
"She is dead, and I got my punishment more than I deserve. What more do you want now?" Her voice cracked, and this time, I saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Will it ever erase what I faced? Will it bring back Alice? It won’t. And no matter my intentions, it doesn’t change that I killed her."
"Someone set you up, and we have to find out who," I said firmly.
"No one set me," she spat, wiping her tears roughly as she stared at the five of us. "You all still have a chance. I’m warning you—kill me while you can. Or I swear, when it’s my turn, I will kill all of you just like I killed Alice."
I let out a helpless sigh. Her hatred was a wall, unyielding. She wasn’t going to help us anymore, and she didn’t want to.
"Alright. Rest," I said, lowering the head of her bed.
Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she closed her eyes, probably feeling the ache in her heart, the weight of her own guilt.
I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She was marked, my mate—even if not completely, she was still mine. Had always been.
Her brows furrowed at the touch, and she opened her teary eyes, confused.
"I’m sorry," I whispered softly, my face just an inch from hers, my thumbs brushing gently at the corners of her eyes.
I didn’t care that my brothers were standing there.
Her confused expression deepened. I knew no one had ever apologized to her, no one had ever coaxed her gently, not like this.
"I know we have failed you," I whispered, my voice low and coaxing, my thumb still brushing her cheek as her eyes locked with mine. "I know you hate us. I know you don’t trust us anymore. But it won’t stay that way. We will make it right—for you, for us. I promise, we will."
More tears slid down her face, the tip of her nose reddened, her lips trembling as soft, broken sobs escaped. "Let me die then...that’s all I want...make it right for me..."
Even now, she tried to convince me that death was the ultimate escape for her, the only goal she had now.
"No," I said firmly, yet gently, my words wrapping around her like a shield. "You will live, and you won’t regret it. You are not allowed to die."
She sobbed quietly for a moment before whispering again, "I...truly hate...you..."
"I know," I said softly, brushing her cheek with the back of my hand. "And I don’t blame you."
"Just...leave," she murmured between sobs, closing her eyes and turning her face away.
I pressed a light kiss to her temple, then pulled back slightly. "Rest well. The moon festival is coming soon. I’ll get you a gift you’ll like."
She didn’t respond, only letting her soft sobs continue. Not long ago she had been furious, defiant, but now she was just hurt and broken, a fragile shadow of herself.
I straightened the sheets covering her and turned to my brothers. They were frozen, unsure of what to do, as always.
"Let her rest," I instructed.
They nodded, and we stepped outside the suite. The air outside felt heavy, thick with the weight of her emotions, but we needed it—needed a moment of relief from the suffocating intensity she carried with her.
As we stood in the open corridor, Lucian said, "I’m going to do that drug test on her. When are we taking her home?"
"I understand your eagerness to find the truth, but be patient," Kael replied calmly.
"That drug won’t harm her physically," Lucian explained, "Just a little mental stress."
Seeing her like this today seemed to confirm his suspicion—she had been drugged back then, and he wanted clarity quickly.
"We have to wait," Jason said, his medical expertise evident in his tone. "It’s not wise to use any drug on her right now. Give it at least a week."
"I’ll get her blood report from back then," Rafe added, "so half the questions will be answered already. Give me a day."
Lucian hummed, acknowledging their caution. None of us wanted to harm her anymore. Instead we had to think on how to undo the damage we had already caused.
"She’s broken... beyond what we could even hope to fix," I said, and felt others tense around me. "I’m afraid... we might not be able to."