CHAPTER 174: PICKING UP BROKEN PIECES WITH BARE HANDS
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Diana stood at the top of the stairs, staring down the empty corridor that led to the study. She could hear faint voices behind the thick mahogany door — James and the guys. But none of them had come back out. Not even Jared.
Her fingers tightened on the railing. Her legs still trembled. But she couldn't sit and cry anymore.
She had cried enough.
If she was going to fix this, she had to start now.
She descended the stairs slowly, every step feeling heavier than the last. Her heart thudded in her chest like it was trying to warn her… or push her forward. She wasn't sure which.
She stopped just outside the study door, took a deep breath, and knocked softly.
No one answered.
She knocked again, firmer this time.
Still no answer.
She reached for the knob, heart in her throat, and turned it.
The door creaked open.
They were all there. James sat behind his desk, a glass of something dark and strong in his hand, his face unreadable. The rest stood around him, quiet. Alert. The room was thick with unspoken tension.
When James looked up and saw her, his jaw tightened.
"What do you want, Diana?"
His voice was like ice. Cold enough to slice through her soul.
But she stepped inside anyway.
"I need to talk to you," she said quietly.
"You've done enough talking."
"I just… I need to explain."
James stood. "Explain? Diana, do you think I'm stupid?"
"No. I think you're hurt. And I think I caused that hurt. And I'm..."
"You're what?" he snapped. "Sorry? You already said that. In the car. And right before you almost got us all killed."
His voice cracked at the edges. The fury was still there, but underneath it… there was pain.
Real, raw pain.
He was blaming her for the near death experience they nearly had. I mean literally she was at fault but wasn't the one who couldn't control her powers. It was him. Still she couldn't deny the pain she was seeing on his face now. It even broke her more
"I never meant to make you feel like a stranger in my life," she said, her voice trembling. "I didn't plan to take off the ring. It was a last-minute decision because I was scared. Of what people would think, of what it would cost us, of failing at my first major project…"
"But you weren't scared of losing me?" he cut in. "You weren't scared of lying to me?"
She blinked, and the tears returned. "I was scared of everything. Including you."
James flinched like she'd slapped him. His lips parted slightly.
"I was scared because loving you comes with a weight I've never carried before. It's too big, too much. And I didn't know how to hold it all without breaking something."
James didn't say a word. He just watched her, expression unreadable.
Diana stepped closer. "But I'll learn. I'll figure it out. If it takes crawling on glass to win your trust back, I will."
"Don't say things you don't mean," he said coldly.
"I mean every word," she whispered.
He looked down, then away, then finally — finally met her eyes again. "You hurt me, Diana. In ways I never expected. You made me feel like a placeholder. A shame."
Her breath caught. "You were never a placeholder. You're the only man I've ever truly loved. The only man who has all my firsts in his hands"
Silence.
Then he sat back down, letting out a slow breath. "This isn't something we can fix in a day."
"I know."
"I'm not promising I'll forgive you."
"I'm not asking you to. Just… let me try."
He didn't answer. But he didn't throw her out either. She took that as a start.
The room went still after she finished speaking her last words.
So still, you could hear the ticking of James's wristwatch.
Diana stood there, raw and shaking, her heart in her hands, laid bare for everyone to see. And that was when the weight of it hit her.
They were all watching.
Victor, Harry, Henry, Jerry… even Jared. All of them, silent. No one moved. No one spoke. They just… stared.
And in that moment, the shame came flooding in like a dam had broken inside her.
Her face turned crimson. She blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay, but her voice cracked as she spoke again, this time much lower.
"I'm sorry you all had to see that," she whispered, avoiding their eyes. "I didn't mean to dump my mess in front of everyone…"
She turned around quickly, as if to leave, like her legs could carry her far enough to outrun the humiliation burning through her chest.
But just as she reached the door, she heard someone move behind her.
It was Jared.
His voice was low, a little softer than before. "Diana."
She stopped.
"You don't need to apologize for being human. Not here."
The silence that followed was thick, but not as cruel as before.
James said nothing. Not yet. But he didn't stop Jared either.
She turned her head slightly. "Thank you… but I still need to go."
And she stepped out of the room quietly, closing the door behind her.
The second it clicked shut, she leaned her back against the wall and let the tears fall freely, not because she was weak, but because she had finally spoken from the deepest, most unguarded part of her soul.
She had done what she could at the moment. She knew she was not true. She still had a lot of workings to do.
With that, she picked herself up and went back to their bedroom.