He didn’t answer. Just the soft thump of his palm resting on the other side of the shelf.
“I was trying to protect you,” he finally said.
“That’s not protection, Callum. That’s erasure.”
Silence.
Then, his voice dropped to a whisper.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. I just… didn’t know what to do. The people I love—my family—and the girl I was supposed to love… they all wanted someone I actually care about gone. Dead.”
A pause.
“I made the wrong call.”
A longer stretch of silence settled between us. No shuffled steps. No page turns.
“I think about you all the time,” he said finally. His voice cracked like it physically hurt to say. “Even now. Especially now.”
My fingers tightened around the book. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
“I didn’t want you hurt, Liora. I didn’
