Axle's POV
We both stood frozen in the study, both unwilling to make the first move.
The grandfather clock in the corner ticked loudly in the silence, each click of the second hand sounding like it was counting down to some invisible deadline neither of us had agreed to.
My hands itched to reach for her, to close the space, to stop this endless back-and-forth that felt like it was tearing us apart before we even began. But then her voice echoed in my head: "I can't risk getting hurt by you… Axle."
It stopped me cold.
The frustration I'd been bottling up since last night finally started to boil over. "So what now?" I asked, my voice tight. "Are we just going to pretend nothing ever happened?"
Narda stayed quiet, eyes lowered to the floor, and it grated on my nerves.
I
