Zarek.
I stood there for a long moment, simply staring at her, my mind unable to piece together what she had just said. It felt like the air around us had thickened, like her words had struck something sharp into my chest, and for a few seconds, I wasn’t even sure if I heard her correctly.
What was she trying to do now?
What exactly was she aiming at?
My thoughts scattered across the room, too fast and too loud, and all I could do was look at her—her tear-stained cheeks, her trembling shoulders, her eyes glued to the floor as if the ground had all the answers she didn’t want to face.
My chest tightened sharply.
“Danika… what do you mean by that?”
My voice came out lower than I intended, rough with the frustration I had been swallowing for days, confused and edged with irritation I
