He had crossed a line, and it was terrible.
I needed to distance myself from him as soon as I could.
As I remained silent, Andrewâs apologies grew more fervent.
âDebra, wonât you at least look at me? I never intended for any of this to happen.
Had I realized that the man was actually Caleb, I would never have caused him harm.
Believe me.
Weâre friends, and Caleb is your husband.
Why would I ever want to harm him? Besides, the Thorn Edge Pack is far mightier than our witch clan.
Even for the sake of our own clanâs stability, harming him would be unthinkable.
â
Andrewâs words carried the weight of sincerity, yet they clashed sharply with the actions I had witnessed.
Lifting my gaze, I met his eyes with a cold, mocking smile.
Sure, his excuses seemed logical.
After all, Caleb and I had kept his presence at the manor a secret, providing Andrew the perfect excuse to strike.
But Andrew, who was able to be the deputy leader of the witch clan at such a young age, was far from simple.
Noticing my skeptical look, he began to fluster, scrambling to add more to his defense.
But I cut him off.
âSorry, the fault was ours for keeping secrets.
This isnât on you.
You should go now.
â
At my words, a shadow passed over Andrewâs face, darkening his expression even more.
His eyes widening, he asked incredulously, âWhat are you saying? Donât you want to forgive me? Are we really ending our friendship over this?â
I shook my head, a slight smile on my face, and responded in a measured, yet cold tone, âYou donât need my forgiveness because you havenât done anything wrong.
â
Andrew stared at me, clearly taken aback.
I went on, âSomeone was breaking into the manor.
You could have taken the bodyguards to apprehend the intruder, or even taken more drastic measures.
It was your right.
How can I fault you for that? I donât hold it against you.
â
Andrewâs confusion turned to panic.
He blurted out, âWhatâs going on with you, Debra? Youâre
frightening me.
Please, donât do this.
You can yell at me, hit me if it helpsâ¦â
I gave a wry smile, my gaze drifting towards the emergency room.
I wanted to confront him about why he felt compelled to kill Caleb.
But it seemed pointless now.
I collected myself and said, âIâll cover Calebâs medical expenses.
This incident is behind us.
You have no further obligation to Caleb, so thereâs no need for you to stay.
You can leave now.
â
My voice was steady, detached, and almost harsh, a stark contrast to the near hysteria I had shown just moments earlier.
This shift left the bodyguards and Nora, who were also present, utterly bewildered.
Debraâs POV:
Andrew reacted the most visibly.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at me.
I averted my gaze, silently praying that Caleb would be safe.
Andrew, finding me unresponsive, wordlessly moved to a bench in the corridor and sat down.
Nora approached me cautiously, her hand gently resting on my shoulder as she whispered, âAre you okay?â