Nathan’s POV
Pain. It had become a constant in my life, an unshakable shadow that followed me with every step.
The others were struggling, too. I could see it in the way Xavier clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, in the way Rolex barely spoke, and in the way Sean kept rubbing his temples like he had a migraine that wouldn’t go away.
The curse was getting worse.
Mia had healed us before, but we knew it wasn’t permanent. And we didn’t dare ask her for more-not when she was finally getting the happiness she deserved.
So we suffered. In silence.
We tried everything. Reached out to the best healers, witches, and herbalists. They gave us medicines, tonics, remedies-none of them worked. The pain always returned, sharper and crueler than before.
It was like the curse knew we were trying to cheat it.
I had reached my limit.
As I sat in my room, my hands gripping the edge of the table, my head pounding so hard it felt like it would split open, I knew we couldn’t keep going like this.
We needed her.
I stood, ignoring the way my knees wobbled, and made my way toward her room.
Mia.
Would she even listen?
She had ignored us earlier, and honestly, we deserved it. We had done unspeakable things to her. Hurt her in ways we could never undo.
And yet…
She had also saved us.
A part of me hoped, prayed, that maybe she still cared-even if just a little.
I reached her door and hesitated.
The bond between us burned, calling me to her, reminding me of what I had lost. What I had thrown away because of my own stupidity.
I raised my fist and knocked.
Nothing.
I knocked again, this time harder.
Still nothing.
Was she asleep? Or was she just ignoring me?
A flicker of panic shot through me. What if she was sick? What if she had used too much of her power and was now lying unconscious, and here I was, being a selfish idiot?
I didn’t think twice. I pushed the door open.
The moment I stepped into her room, I knew she wouldn’t make this easy for me.
Mia sat there, calm and composed, her arms crossed over her chest, her piercing gaze locked onto mine like she could already read my desperation.
She knew why I was here.
She just wanted to make me suffer.
I deserved that.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, stepping forward, feeling every bit of my pride crumble to dust as I spoke. “Mia… please.”
She raised an eyebrow, looking unbothered, like I was just another annoyance in her day.
“Please, what?” she asked, tilting her head.
I clenched my fists. The pain in my body had worsened. My vision was blurring more often. I had barely been able to stand straight before coming here.
Still, I forced myself to stay strong. “Save us.”
Mia didn’t even flinch. Instead, she smirked, her gaze turning cold.
“Save you?” she repeated, tapping her fingers on the table. “Oh, Nathan… I thought you didn’t need me?”
A sharp sting cut through my chest.
“You’ve all lived just fine without me, right? Hating me, hurting me, making my life hell-”
“Mia-”
“No, let me finish,” she snapped, standing up.
Her sudden movement made my heart race. Not from fear-but from something else.
Something I wasn’t allowed to feel anymore.
“You only come to me now because you’re dying, Nathan. But tell me-if you were fine, if you weren’t suffering right now, would you still have come to me? Would you still beg for my help?”
I felt like she had just punched me in the gut.
Because I didn’t have an answer.
Mia took a step closer, her eyes dark with something I couldn’t place.
She lifted her hand, running a single finger down my chest-so slow, so teasing, so deadly.
“Beg properly, Nathan,” she whispered.
My breath caught.
I had begged. I was begging. But it still wasn’t enough for her.
She leaned closer, her lips just inches from mine, her breath warm against my skin. I ached to close the distance, to touch her, to tell her what I had never said before.
But then she smiled coldly.
“If you ever want to live, go to my grave and beg.”
I froze.
Her grave?
My heart plunged into my stomach.
“Mia, there’s no-”
“Exactly,” she cut me off, her voice like ice.
I should have thought about it before. Before I let my pride, my stupid jealousy, my blind hatred destroy the only thing that ever truly mattered.
I should have protected her. Should have been the one to stand by her side instead of against her.
I closed my eyes, flashes of the past hitting me like a storm.
I saw the girl I had bullied, the girl I had broken, the girl I had convinced myself I didn’t need-only to realize too late that I couldn’t live without her.
I thought I had hated her once. But what I felt now? It was the opposite of hate.
I felt the last bit of hope drain from my body. She wasn’t going to save us.
She wanted us to feel everything she felt. The pain, the helplessness, the betrayal.
And goddamn it, I did.
I nodded, backing away, swallowing past the lump in my throat. My vision was getting hazier. My limbs felt weak.
I didn’t even argue. I just turned around and walked out. By the time I reached my room, my body gave out.
The pain was unbearable now. Every breath felt like knives slicing through my ribs. I clutched my chest, trying to hold it together, trying not to scream.
I wanted to call out for help. If dying meant taking away even an ounce of the suffering I had caused her, I would have welcomed it.
But I didn’t. I deserved this. I didn’t deserve her blood. I didn’t deserve another chance.
So I stayed silent.
Until the door burst open, and I saw Daisy’s horrified face before everything went black.