The tears came hot and fast, slipping down my cheeks like molten glass, each one a shard of pain that cut through my chest. The world around me seemed to blur, the edges fading into a fog of sorrow and disbelief. I collapsed onto the edge of the bed, my hands clenching the sheets as if trying to hold together pieces of my shattered heart.
Margaret’s footsteps echoed down the hallway, soft and deliberate, before she appeared in the doorway, her eyes sharp and worried, yet filled with a deep, abiding love. “Lyra, what’s happened, my dear?” she asked, her voice gentle, the words wrapping around me like a lifeline.
I met her gaze, my eyes raw and unfocused, the weight of everything pressing down on me. “It’s… it’s Lucas,” I whispered, the words coming out in a broken sob. “He has to choose h
