Sonia’s POV
I didn’t see Alexander for two days.
Clara came to my room the next morning, her voice soft with apology. She sat on the edge of my bed, the same way my mother used to when I was younger.
“My dear, I truly didn’t mean to upset you,” she said. “It was a foolish idea, I see that now. I only wanted to make you happy.”
I smiled faintly, because she needed that. “I know. You were just trying to help.”
She reached for my hand. “He can be so stubborn sometimes. Always has been. He doesn’t like being told what to do, even when it’s good for him.”
I didn’t answer.
Because what could I say? That it wasn’t stubbornness that hurt me, it was the rejection behind his eyes? The quiet reminder that no matter how close we had become, I would never truly belong in his world the way I want
