I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “No. If I need help, I’ll ask. But I don’t want her destroyed for me. I want to do it myself.”
He didn’t hesitate, “Atta girl.”
He ended the mindlink without another word, trusting me to carry the rest on my own.
I stayed there for a long while, standing in the quiet, my hands resting at my sides, the lingering weight of the conversation not heavy, but solid. Something to mull over.
When I returned to my desk, Mia looked up again, brows raised just enough to ask without saying anything.
“I’m fine,” I said, sitting beside her. “I just needed to remember who I am.”
She smiled, the kind that didn’t pity, just accepted.
From here on, I would choose myself. And Bianca? She could keep pretending the crown fit. Eventually, I’d be the one to k
