Aria’s POv
And I don’t know what hurt more—his words or this...this complete stillness, like he couldn’t even bother to answer me. I looked at his back, so tall, so proud, so utterly alone, and I felt something strange twist in my chest. He wasn’t built for loneliness, and yet he wore it like it was all he knew.
Maybe that’s why I’d followed him. Not to ask questions. Not to fight. Just to give him my presence. Even if he hated it. Even if he’d rather tear it to pieces than let it stay. I mean, if he was going to live the rest of his life in that empty castle of his own making—then maybe, just maybe, I could share a piece of it. So he wouldn't rot in it alone.
I'd reject him.
My chest felt sore…like someone had scraped the insides raw and then left it open to rot in the air. He still h
