Lyra’s POV
“Why did you do it, Lyra?”
I sighed, pressing my head back against the seat as if that would silence the question hammering in my mind. “Because I had to,” I whispered. “I had to leave. It was the right thing.”
“Was it, though? Was it?”
A fresh wave of doubt washed over me. My chest tightened, and I shut my eyes, hoping to block out the surge of pain and regret. “What else was I supposed to do?” I murmured, clenching my fists. “I had to walk away, for him, for me, for everyone. I couldn’t keep hurting the people I love.”
“And yet here you are, heartbroken and empty, regretting every step you took out of that door,” my mind countered, a cruel voice that mirrored my thoughts. “If it was the right thing, why does it feel like your heart is being torn apart?”
I bit my lip, rec
