The sound of his name carried softly through the quiet room, and Arsene lifted his head as if it weighed a hundred pounds. His face was a wreck, rumpled clothes still clinging to him from the night before, eyes bloodshot and swollen, the raw evidence of a man who had been swallowed whole by despair.
“Arnav…” His voice cracked, hoarse with exhaustion. “I’m sorry for coming without notice… barging in like this. I really am a disgrace of a brother.”
Arnav’s brow arched slightly, but he said nothing at first. He took a step closer, letting the heavy silence stretch between them before he finally spoke. “What happened to you? You look… like you haven’t slept.”
“I didn’t,” Arsene muttered flatly, as though the very idea of rest had been a luxury he no longer deserved.
Arnav’s mouth closed ag
