ETHAN
After leaving Ruby with Zoey, guilt gnawed at me like a living thing, sharp and relentless. All I wanted was to keep her safe, yet somehow every effort I made only seemed to make her feel trapped. She was so stubborn and refused to see reasons. That infuriating defiance was exactly what I admired most about her.
Duncan might have captured her, tormented her, and tried to crush her completely… but the woman lying in that bed didn’t look broken to me. Beneath the bruises, the exhaustion, and the lingering fear, there was still that spark, the quiet, stubborn fire that refused to be extinguished, no matter what hell she’d endured..
This should’ve eased me but instead, it only made the guilt burn deeper. Shadow, paced restlessly beneath my skin, growling in protest.
'Stay with her,'
