LUKAS’S POV
Her words rang in my head like a curse, a constant reminder of my place in her world.
“I don’t want you and I mean it.”
I hadn’t moved since she slammed the door shut behind her. I’d heard her footsteps retreating down the hall, their echoes fading into the void she left behind. But her voice—it didn’t fade. It clung to me like a second skin, digging under the surface, setting in my bones.
And why did it hurt so much?
Because, deep down, I knew she didn’t mean it. She didn’t hate me—not really. What she hated was the bond, the pull, the inevitability of us. She hated that no matter how far she ran, she’d always end up back here, tied to me, chained to this cursed fate.
And I hated that she hated it.
I pushed off the wall, pacing the room like a caged animal. My fists cl
