Kaida
The night felt unusually still as I left Bastian’s place, his insistence on me staying over still lingering in the back of my mind. He had been worried—overly so—and I couldn’t entirely blame him. After the white rose incident and that chilling note, it was hard not to feel like I was being watched. But despite his protests, I’d promised Dahlia I’d be back tonight, and the last thing I wanted was to break that promise. I needed to be with her, to hold on to the sense of normalcy we were trying so hard to maintain.
Bastian had reluctantly agreed to let me leave alone, after what felt like an endless back and forth between us. His protectiveness was endearing, but I wasn’t going to let fear control every decision I made. I couldn’t live like that, even if a part of me wanted to take
