Chapter 2496

Luna’s voice cut through the tension like ice. “Enough! If you have feelings for Andrew too, then don’t you dare speak about him that way.” Her eyes flashed with a fierce determination. “You’re right, Valerie. I do like Andrew. People have always said we’re rivals, but honestly, I never wanted to compete with you over anything. Take whatever you want—except Andrew. If you try to play games with me over him, I promise you’ll regret it.”

Valerie let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her expression dripping with disdain. “Wow, Luna. That’s unexpected coming from you. You’ve always been the quiet one—ruthless but reserved, never wasting words. And now here you are, yelling over a man. Seems like you’ve fallen deeper than I thought.”

She leaned in slightly, her voice dripping with challenge. “But like I told you before, I’m not giving up. You want Andrew for yourself? Then I’ll take him just to watch you squirm.”

Luna’s tone remained calm, but every word was charged with a quiet power. “Go ahead and try to steal him, use whatever dirty tricks you want. I don’t care. But I hope whatever you’re doing is real, not just some petty game to one-up me.”

Valerie’s laugh turned bitter and cold. “My reasons are none of your concern. You don’t get to decide what’s right or wrong here. Just know I’m fully in this now, and I won’t back down. Oh, and one more thing… Andrew already has my body. I already belong to him. So stop dreaming, Luna.”

Luna said nothing in response. She simply stared at Valerie, her face unreadable, like a stone wall.

The silence seemed to irritate Valerie, who shrugged with a sneer, clearly unimpressed, and turned to walk away. But as soon as she stepped out, Luna’s lips parted slightly, and a thin trickle of blood slid down her chin.

She felt utterly drained, as if every ounce of strength had been sucked from her body.

Luna had always been simple, focused only on her training and her future. That clarity and purity had been her foundation, her strength. But now, because of Andrew, that purity felt shattered. And when purity is broken, pain inevitably follows.

Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart a thousand times over.

Had Andrew and Valerie really gone that far? Why? Why would Andrew betray her like this?

What hurt the most was her refusal to believe he could be that kind of man. The Reyes family was backed by the Umbral Peak Sect, a shadowy organization that balanced on the edge between righteousness and corruption.

Did Andrew not understand what that meant?

Even if he was blind to the Reyes family’s darkness, he had to know the kind of woman Valerie was—and how dangerous she could be.

And yet, they had crossed that line. The thought shattered Luna from within. Before, she had only suspected a connection between them. Now she knew the truth, and it was far more painful than she had ever imagined.

“Andrew… maybe I really did misjudge you,” she whispered bitterly, the words barely audible.

She wiped the blood from her lips, her eyes hardening with a new resolve as she stepped out of the arena.

The truth was out, and Andrew was still alive—that was all that mattered now. Everything else could end here. She no longer wanted to fight for him, nor did she want to be caught up in this tangled mess any longer.

Whatever had happened between them—between Andrew and Valerie—she simply no longer cared.

Conclusion

Luna’s heart, once filled with hope and trust, now bore the heavy weight of betrayal and shattered illusions. The raw pain of Andrew’s actions cut deeper than any physical wound, leaving her to confront a truth she had long feared but never fully accepted. Yet, beneath the ache, a quiet strength began to stir—a resolve born not from love, but from the necessity to protect herself from further harm.

In stepping away from the chaos that had consumed her, Luna chose to reclaim her clarity and focus, refusing to be ensnared in a battle that no longer held meaning for her. The tangled emotions and broken promises faded into the background as she embraced a new path, one defined not by others’ choices, but by her own unwavering determination to move forward beyond the pain.