Makarius POV
It felt like the air was being sucked out of my lungs. My chest tightened, and each breath grew shorter. All I could see was Victoria’s face when we first met, her shy smile, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear. I remembered her laughter echoing in the halls, how her eyes always found mine in a crowd.
How did we get here, with the woman I promised to protect slipping away right in front of me? Panic rose inside me, wild and sharp, drowning out everything else.
The thought of losing her felt like a hole opening inside me. I couldn’t imagine life without her, or holding our child if she were gone. I remembered finding her asleep by the window, the secrets we whispered late at night. All of it pressed down on me until I could barely breathe.
Cadmus came to my side. Bro
