THE TRUTH I COULDN'T IGNORE
325 Words
“I can protect you.”
Kael’s voice was steady, firm, like he expected me to believe him without question.
But I didn’t.
Not anymore.
I looked at him for a long moment, searching his face for something—anything—that would make his words feel real.
“You couldn’t even protect me before,” I said quietly.
The words landed harder than I expected.
His expression shifted instantly, a shadow passing through his eyes.
“That won’t happen again,” he replied.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he insisted.
I shook my head slowly, ignoring the dull ache spreading through my body.
“No,” I said. “You don’t.”
Because if there was one thing I had learned from everything that had happened…
It was that promises didn’t mean anything without action.
“She won’t stop,” I continued, my voice calmer now but more certain. “You know that.”
His jaw tightened, his gaze hardening.
“I’ll deal with her.”
“You should have already done that,” I replied.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
The kind that revealed more than words ever could.
“You care about her,” I said.
His eyes flickered.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
And that was enough.
“It’s complicated,” he said after a pause.
A soft, bitter laugh escaped me.
“It’s not complicated,” I replied. “It’s just inconvenient.”
His gaze darkened.
“You don’t understand the position I’m in.”
“Then explain it to me,” I said.
Another pause.
Another chance for him to say something real.
But just like before—
He didn’t.
“I can’t,” he said quietly.
And that was it.
That was the moment everything became clear.
Because if he couldn’t choose me when it mattered…
Then I already knew where I stood.
And that was the truth I couldn’t ignore.
- Writer
