(Lyra’s POV)
The door closed behind me with a soft click, but my whole body felt like it had been slammed by a storm.
I walked quickly down the steps of Cassian’s estate, clutching my bag so tightly the strap dug into my palm. My legs carried me forward, but inside—I wasn’t moving at all. I was frozen in that hallway, in the weight of his voice.
“If you’re ready for the proposal, come to the marriage register office. Tomorrow. Nine a.m.”
Those words replayed again and again, as if they’d been buried into me.
My heart pounded so hard it was painful. My stomach twisted, a sick knot that refused to loosen. It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense. He shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have stood there like I couldn’t breathe. And yet—I had.
I had frozen.
And that scared me more
