Reclaiming My Broken Luna (Astrid and Killian) novel Chapter 403

Astrid’s POV

I studied Andros’s face as he spoke, searching for even the faintest trace of deceit, but there was none.

His expression was raw, stripped bare of his usual indifference, and in its place was something achingly human.

Beneath the steady timbre of his voice, I caught a faint sadness—not just for Rowena, but for Killian, too. It made my chest tighten.

I turned to Killian and felt my heart break at the sight of him. His golden eyes, usually so fierce and commanding, burned with a storm of emotions that threatened to drown him—anger, sorrow, regret.

He stood frozen, like a man facing the wreckage of his entire world.

“Then why didn’t she?” Killian’s voice, sharp and brittle, sliced through the heavy air.

His fists trembled, clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles were white. “If she regretted everything so much, why didn’t she just say something? Why didn’t she stop?”

Andros let out a quiet sigh, leaning his head back against the damp stone wall. “Because she couldn’t,” he said, his voice heavy with the weight of the truth.

“The rogues wouldn’t let her. They were using her as a spy, forcing her to betray you—to betray the Pack. And if she refused…” He hesitated, the words catching in his throat. “Someone else would have paid the price.”

Killian’s breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he absorbed the words.

“So she let them use her?” he asked, his voice rising with each word. “She let them destroy everything?” His voice cracked, the anguish seeping through.

“She didn’t have a choice,” Andros said, his tone steady but firm. “She played the villain because she thought it was the only way to protect you—to protect all of us. Every move she made, everything she did, was for us. For you.”

“What are you saying?” Killian whispered, his voice barely audible now, his shoulders slumping under the weight of the revelation.

Andros straightened slightly, his gaze locking onto Killian. “She planned all of this,” he said, his words slow and deliberate.

“From the moment the rogues came to her, she decided how it would end. She knew she was going to die. And she decided that when she did, she’d take the Rogue King with her.”

The words struck like a physical blow. Killian staggered back a step, his breath catching as he ran a hand through his hair.

His fingers trembled, and his golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “She planned to die,” he said hoarsely. “All this time… she knew.”

Andros nodded, his expression heavy with the weight of his own emotions.

“She helped in ways you couldn’t see,” he continued. “She was harsh, cold, and distant because she thought it would hurt less when she was gone.”