The cold night air bit into my skin as I stood alone, my hands trembling from more than just the chill. The tears I had fought so hard to hold back finally broke free, falling silently down my cheeks. Cassian’s words echoed in my mind, his raw honesty both breaking and confusing me. How could someone who claimed to care for me be the same person who had pulled so many strings behind my back?
Who I know nothing about?
I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to block out the whirlwind of emotions threatening to consume me.
It was always hot and cold with him and I had no idea where we were headed.
I was tired.
Tired of secrets, of lies, of being played like a puppet in a game I never asked to join.
I needed to breathe, to get away from the suffocating walls of the palac
