From Substitute To Queen. Chapter 146

I stared at my phone for a long moment before dialing Rodrigo's number.

"Rodrigo, it's me. Sable... is she with you?"

"She's sleeping." Relief flooded through me, my shoulders sagging despite myself.

I cleared my throat. "She... is she okay?"

Rodrigo's pause stretched too long. "Caelan, after you hung up on her, she cried for hours. I've never seen her like that—completely broken. It made me question whether I was right to encourage this separation."

My eyes burned. I gripped the phone tighter. "Rodrigo, I'm announcing the dissolution of our engagement tomorrow morning. But I need you to know—any negative press about Sable, I'll handle it. She won't be hurt by this."

"Caelan, maybe you don't need to rush—"

"I need your cooperation. Tell Sable I changed my mind. That's all. Just say I didn't want her anymore."

"There's something else." I forced myself to continue. "I'm arranging some... compensation."

"Compensation?"

"The oceanfront villa at Emerald Bay, plus a substantial cash settlement. Enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life."

Rodrigo went quiet.

"But you can never tell her it came from me." My voice turned urgent. "Say it's inheritance from her mother, or make up any other story. Because if she knows it's from me—"

"She'll refuse it," Rodrigo finished quietly.

"She'll see it as charity. As guilt money." A bitter laugh escaped. "She'd rather starve than accept anything she thinks comes from pity."

"Caelan, you don't owe her this. Even if you're ending things, you don't—"

"But I do owe her." The admission tore from my throat. "Please accept this. It's the only way I can sleep at night."

Silence stretched between us.

"There's one more thing." My voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "The most important thing."

"I'm listening."

"The man who drove into that convenience store..." I stopped, the words sticking like broken glass. "You can never tell Sable it was my father."

"Why not?"

"Because I know her." Each word felt like a confession. "If she learns my father tried to kill her, she'll understand immediately why I'm ending things."

The line went dead quiet except for Rodrigo's breathing.

"Caelan... you're sacrificing yourself."

"This isn't sacrifice. It's taking responsibility."

"But Sable will hate you..."

"Let her hate me." The words came out flat, final. "As long as she's safe, as long as she lives, she can hate me forever. I don't care."

Rodrigo's heavy sigh carried through the speaker. "I understand. I'll do as you ask... but Caelan, protect yourself too."

"Thank you for understanding."

I ended the call.

***

**Darrell's POV**

I stood outside Sable's hospital room, white roses clutched in my hands.

Rodrigo appeared in the doorway, his face immediately hardening when he saw me.

"Darrell. Again?" His voice carried exhaustion and irritation. "I told you already—Sable doesn't need your visits."

"I just want to make sure she's all right, please." I kept my tone respectful, sincere. "Let me see her for one minute. I won't disturb her."

Rodrigo shook his head. "No."

Instead of leaving, I raised my voice slightly. "I know you can hear me, Sable. I'm the one who saved you that night."

Movement came from inside the room, then Sable's voice, tired but clear: "Dad, let him in."

Rodrigo hesitated, conflict playing across his features. After several seconds, he stepped aside. "Fine. But I'll be right outside."

I entered the room, immediately noting how pale she looked against the white sheets. The bandage around her head made her seem fragile, breakable.

I placed the roses on her bedside table. "How are you feeling?"

Sable half-sat against her pillows. "Thank you for saving me."

Her voice held polite distance—nothing more.

I looked around the empty room pointedly. "Where's Caelan? Didn't he come to see you?"

She went silent.

"I just thought..." I let the words trail off deliberately. "Never mind. It's not my business."

"What?" Impatience crept into her tone.

"It's just that if I truly cared about someone, I'd be at the hospital immediately. Not..."

I gestured at the empty space around her bed.

"Everyone shows concern differently," she said stiffly.

"You're right." I nodded as if suddenly enlightened. "Maybe I'm overthinking it. After all, you two have such a strong relationship..."

She cut me off. "I want to know why you were there to save me. Were you following us?"

"Yes." No point in lying. "I was worried about your safety. Ever since you got involved with Caelan, accidents keep happening around you. That day I saw you alone at the coffee shop, then the jewelry store, so I decided to follow just in case."

Sable watched me carefully.

"When I saw you meet up with Caelan, I relaxed. Stopped following. I went to clear my head in the area. Later that evening, I was driving to get gas when I saw you both in the convenience store." I leaned forward slightly. "Then I saw a car speeding straight toward the building. I ran in and got you out. Caelan was too injured to carry you—without me, you might have died."

"Thank you." Her voice remained neutral. "But you don't need to elevate yourself by putting others down. You know perfectly well how much stronger Caelan is than you."

The blunt observation stung. I hadn't expected her to see through my manipulation so easily.

"Fine. Caelan's wonderful." I stood up. "Then where is he? Why isn't he here taking care of you?"

"He has urgent business to handle."

"Fine. Whatever you say." I moved toward the door. "If you need anything, anything at all, you can contact me."

At the doorway, I turned back one last time. "Sable, you deserve better."

I left her sitting there in silence.

Outside in my car, I dialed Lucian's number with shaking hands.

"Lucian!" Rage colored every syllable. "You better have an explanation!"

"Explanation for what?" His voice carried bored irritation.

"The plan that night! That's not what we discussed!" My voice rose dangerously. "You said you'd arrange someone to hit Caelan, then I'd rescue Sable and take her somewhere safe."

"Instead? Your man nearly killed her too!"

Lucian paused. "The plan had some... complications."

"Complications?" I nearly shouted. "That wasn't a complication—it was a completely different plan! If Sable had died, everything I've worked for would be meaningless!"

"What exactly do you want?"

"I want Sable alive and safe, not dead!" I slammed my palm against the steering wheel.

"Speaking of honesty," Lucian's tone turned cold, "you weren't completely truthful with me either."

Alert shot through me. "What do you mean?"

"You never mentioned that Caelan was just playing with Sable. He's already dumped her, you fool."

I froze. "What?"

"Caelan told me himself—he was only using her for revenge."

My mind raced. That couldn't be true. I'd seen how they looked at each other. That kind of connection couldn't be faked.

Then it hit me—Caelan was probably trying to convince Lucian he didn't care about Sable, hoping to protect her from further attacks.

A smile spread across my face. "Regardless, Lucian, our cooperation ends here."

"You can't terminate our partnership unilaterally!" Anger sharpened his voice.

"Why not? Caelan and Sable have broken up—that's exactly what I wanted."

"If you end our cooperation, I'll cut off all financial support immediately."

"Doesn't matter." I felt almost giddy with relief. "My pack is stable now, profitable even. Thanks for the initial funding, by the way—couldn't have turned things around without it."

"So you're biting the hand that feeds you? You know what? I'll tell Caelan everything—that you've been planning all of this with me. Think about what Caelan will do to you."

"Hey." I forced a conciliatory tone. "Just kidding around. Don't take it seriously."

"I'm warning you—don't get any clever ideas. Crushing you would be easier than stepping on an ant."

"Of course." I put on my most submissive voice. "I'll continue following your instructions."

I hung up and let my expression go cold.

*Lucian thinks he owns me. Soon, I'll show him exactly how wrong he is.*