Brax's pov
My hands moved over Willow's body, tracing the delicate contours of her back with a reverence I couldn't quite name. The water cascading over us was warm, but it did nothing to drown out the cool regret settling in my bones. The lifeless eyes of the man I had just killed—those memories clung to me like shadows, refusing to let go.
Desperation guided my touch, as I needed this moment to anchor me to something real, something good. Kissing Willow allowed that guilt a brief exodus, but it would never fully vanish. Holding her now, under the soft, relentless stream of water, the weight of what I'd done seemed both lighter and heavier all at once.
It wasn't ending a life that tormented me; it was the life I had taken, leaving a young boy fatherless. I remembered the first time I h
