THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 225

Chapter 225: Shadows of Deception
The abyss stretched infinitely before Ava, its tendrils of darkness twisting and writhing like a living entity, eager to consume her whole. The air was heavy, suffocating with the weight of all that had been, of all she had betrayed, and the echo of every mistake she could never undo. She stood motionless, heart pounding, staring into the depths, where the malevolent sorceress smirked from the shadows, a smile that chilled Ava to her very core.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” the sorceress’s voice slithered through the dark, silkily smooth yet laced with venom. “It calls to you. Power. It’s yours for the taking.”

Ava’s gaze shifted, the pull of the abyss almost too strong to resist. She could taste the temptation in the air—power so absolute, so overwhelming, that it would erase everything. The pain, the betrayal, the lingering ache that Lucas’s lies had left festering in her heart. Yet amidst the shadows, his figure appeared, weak, bound in the tendrils of the abyss, his life slowly slipping away.

“Ava…” His voice, barely above a whisper, still reached her. Even now, even after everything, he reached for her. “Don’t… give in.”

But how could she not? How could she stand there and face him, the man who had kept so much from her, who had manipulated her into this very moment? Lucas, the one she had trusted with her heart, had broken it in ways she didn’t think possible. She wanted to scream at him, to tear him apart with the very power the abyss offered.

“Do you see now, Ava?” The sorceress stepped closer, her voice wrapping around Ava’s mind like a serpent coiling tighter with each word. “He isn’t worth it. None of them are. They’ve all used you. But with me—with the abyss—you will never be weak again.”

Weak. The word stung, because it was true. Ava had been weak. She had allowed herself to love, to trust, and it had led her here, standing at the edge of oblivion. The sorceress’s smile widened, sensing her hesitation. “You’ve tasted betrayal. You’ve felt the sting of lies. But imagine… imagine never having to feel that again. Imagine being the one in control.”

Ava’s breath hitched, her mind swirling with visions. Power coursing through her veins, bending the world to her will. No more pain. No more betrayal. No more Lucas.

Her hand twitched, her resolve wavering.

“Ava!” Lucas’s voice broke through the fog, desperate now, hoarse with the strain of fighting the abyss’s grip. “Please, don’t—”

“Don’t what?” Ava snapped, her voice sharp, filled with years of pent-up rage and sorrow. “Don’t take control of my life? Don’t stop being your puppet?”

Lucas’s eyes widened, hurt flashing across his face, but he said nothing. What could he say? He had betrayed her, kept the truth hidden, and now, standing on the edge of the abyss, the weight of those lies crushed her. But his silence infuriated her more than words ever could.

“Do you see, Ava?” the sorceress whispered, leaning closer. “He cannot save you. He never could.”

Ava’s heart clenched, the abyss pulsing around her like a living heart. Her breath grew shallow, her vision blurred, torn between the pull of the abyss and the fragile hope Lucas still represented. Her past, her choices, her future—they all spiraled together in a storm of chaos. Her gaze drifted to Lucas, bound in shadows, fighting for breath as the abyss tightened its hold on him.

And then, without warning, a sharp, searing pain shot through Ava’s chest. She gasped, clutching her heart, as a vision slammed into her mind with brutal force.

The future.

Ava saw herself standing at the pinnacle of power. The world at her feet. Destruction all around her, the remnants of those who had dared to oppose her, crushed beneath her heel. The sorceress at her side, a twisted mentor guiding her through a reign of devastation. But there was one thing missing.

Lucas.

In this vision, there was no Lucas. No trace of him. His absence was a void larger than the abyss itself, and the emptiness it left behind gnawed at her, threatening to swallow her whole. Was this the cost of the abyss’s power? To lose him forever?

“You don’t need him,” the sorceress’s voice sliced through the vision like a blade. “He was only ever a distraction.”

Ava trembled, tears stinging her eyes. She wanted to believe it. She wanted to rid herself of the ache in her chest, the part of her that still, after everything, clung to the memory of Lucas’s touch, his whispered promises. But those promises had been lies, hadn’t they?

Or had they?

“Ava…” Lucas’s voice, faint but steady, tugged at her heart again. “You know… what you are. You know who you are. Don’t let her make you forget.”

The abyss roared in response, the sorceress’s smile faltering for the briefest moment. Ava’s grip tightened around her chest, her mind a battlefield of conflicting voices.

“You cannot have both,” the sorceress hissed, her patience waning. “Power, or love. One will destroy you.”

“Then maybe I deserve to be destroyed,” Ava whispered, her voice shaking.

The sorceress’s eyes flared with rage. “No!” she spat, her hand reaching out to grasp Ava’s wrist. “You deserve more than this. You deserve everything!”

But Ava’s mind whirled, torn between the abyss’s promise of power and the faint, lingering hope Lucas still held. His love had broken her, but it had also given her something she hadn’t had in so long—choice.

The ground beneath her feet trembled as the abyss surged, the void below beckoning her, pulling her closer. The sorceress’s grip tightened, her nails digging into Ava’s skin. “You will choose, Ava. And you will choose me.”

Ava’s eyes flickered to Lucas once more. His face, pale and bloodied, still held that spark of something—something she couldn’t quite let go of. Love. Trust. Betrayal. The words circled in her mind, taunting her with their contradictions.

With a strangled breath, Ava made her choice.

Her hand shot out, but instead of the sorceress, it found Lucas’s. His fingers were cold, weak, but they closed around hers with a strength that sent a shock through her body. The abyss shrieked in fury, its dark tendrils lashing out, but they couldn’t sever the connection she had just made.

“You—!” the sorceress howled, her voice rising to a fever pitch, her form flickering, dissolving into the shadows as the power she had wielded over Ava shattered. “You fool! You will regret this! You will—”

But her words faded as the abyss, furious at being denied, roared to life. Ava felt the ground shift beneath her, the darkness closing in, but she didn’t let go of Lucas. She held him tightly, her heart racing, her breath shallow.

“I won’t lose you,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “Not again.”

Lucas’s eyes, tired but full of warmth, met hers. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the chaos. “For everything.”

Ava swallowed hard, the weight of everything pressing down on her. She didn’t know if she could forgive him, not yet, but in that moment, forgiveness didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had chosen—chosen love, chosen to fight against the pull of the abyss. The power she had craved for so long slipped through her fingers like sand, but the hollow ache in her heart was already beginning to heal.

The world around them began to shift, the swirling chaos of the abyss morphing into something new. The suffocating darkness lifted, replaced by a strange, ethereal light that bathed them both in warmth. Ava felt her heart steadying, her mind clearing, as the abyss’s grip loosened.

But the sorceress’s parting words still echoed in her mind.

“You will regret this.”

Ava’s hand tightened around Lucas’s, her resolve hardening. Perhaps she would. Perhaps the choice she had made would come back to haunt her, but for now—for this moment—she had chosen love. And that was enough.

As the light grew brighter, enveloping them both, Ava closed her eyes, letting the warmth of Lucas’s touch anchor her to reality. The abyss’s pull was fading, but its echoes would linger.