Lyra’s POV
The door slammed shut behind Alice, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence of my room. My hands trembled as I pressed them against the cool wooden surface, my forehead resting against it. I wanted to scream, to cry, to throw something, but none of that would help. None of it would undo the mess I was in.
I slid down to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest as the weight of everything crushed me. The choices I’d made, the lies I’d told, the sacrifices, was any of it worth it?
“Should I tell Kurtis everything?” The thought slipped into my mind like a whisper, bringing both hope and fear. Curtis, my savior, the man who’d shown me what it felt like to be truly loved. He’d understand, wouldn’t he? He’d hold me, tell me it wasn’t my burden to bear, and promise to take
