A Battle Between Hearts and Fears
I cursed myself silently, my embarrassment burning through me while Kody’s laughter filled the room.
It was too much to handle—the weight of everything I had learned, the reality I wasn’t sure I could accept, and now this moment where I had completely humiliated myself.
But beyond my embarrassment, there was something else.
A sense of dread.
Because I didn’t have a good feeling about what Kody would say next.
So I braced myself.
When his laughter finally died down, Kody exhaled, his voice filled with something I hadn’t expected.
Life.
A warmth that felt so opposite to the emptiness I carried within me.
“I know you’re scared,” he began, his voice gentle yet certain, his hazel-green eyes searching mine.
“You’ve been scared since the moment we met.
