Page 140 of The Immortal’s Mark

“No.” Bile crawls up my throat as I hold Bella’s stare. “No!”

This can’t be real.

This can’t be happening.

“I made a mistake.” Bella’s hands twist together. “Like I said, I was young. And Adir consoled me and⁠—”

“You cheated on your husband.” The words scrape out of me.

Bella loves Thane.

I can’t rationalize that the Immortal I’ve come to know, my friend, would ever do something like this.

It’s not her.

“I made a mistake,” she repeats, her eyes forlorn.

“But I thought you and Thane were perfect.” My chest tightens, fear creeping in that everything I’ve believed is a carefully constructed illusion. “I saw it myself. You guys love each other.”

Don’t you?

“Of course we do,” she answers my silent plea. “But no one is perfect. No relationship is perfect.”

Of course not. But this?

God.

I didn’t see this coming.

“So what?” My voice sharpens as anger surges up to protect the part of me that wants to crumble. “You cheat on Thane with Adir, and now you’re helping him with the rebellion? You’re betraying Thane because you and Adir had an affair in the past?”

“It is not like that.”

“Then what is it like?” I snap. “Because from where I stand, you look like a traitor. We all have been worried sick about you, and all this time, you’ve sided with the enemy!”

My pulse pounds in my throat.

How could Bella do this, not only to Thane, but to everyone?

Her face pinches. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“Explain.”

She shifts her weight. “I’m not proud of what I did. Adir promised to keep it to himself, but part of me always knew he’d enjoy lording it over Thane whenever he wanted to hurt him.”

“Why not tell him yourself before Adir ever had the chance?”

“I should have.” Her head drops, and she stares at her slippered feet. “Looking back, I wish I had been brave enough to face whatever consequences came from my foolishness. I can’t imagine anything could’ve been worse than what we all endure now.”

“It’s not too late, Bella. We can leave. Now.”

She jerks her head. “I can’t. Not after what I’ve done.”

“Thane will understand⁠—”

“I am the one who helped Adir escape the dungeon.”

I snap my mouth shut so hard my teeth clack. “What?”