My fingers went cold. All my devotion, my burning sincerity, was just a "sickness" to him. After a long moment, I forced a pale smile. "Fine."
On my last day, I couldn't bear to stay in the Ashford Heir estate—a place that never truly belonged to me. I wanted to be somewhere free of them all.
Theodore braced himself for one of my usual outbursts, but all he got was a quiet, "Fine." It hit him like a sledgehammer, rattling his chest.
As I walked away, he called out, almost despite himself, "Where are you going?"
I didn't look back. "Packing my things. Aren't we heading to Frostpeak Temple tomorrow?"
My voice was steady, my steps carrying me farther away.
At dawn on the second day, I walked out of the Ashford estate, clutching my belongings. Jonathan and Isobel, clearly eager to avoid
