74
Emilia’s POV
I stared at Alaric’s text for the millionth time since I received it yesterday, my heart pounding hard in my chest as tears filled my eyes.
“Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks.” He had replied, but that wasn’t what made me want to cry. But it was the realization that I made this morning that made my eyes sting. I was in love with him.
I didn’t know when it happened. Maybe it was gradual, like water eroding rock, wearing down my defenses bit by bit until I was exposed and vulnerable. Or maybe it was sudden—like the moment you realize you’re standing on the edge of a cliff and the ground beneath you is crumbling. I can’t pinpoint the exact second, but somewhere along the way, I fell in love with Alaric.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut as I sat alone in the kitc
