Lucas looked at me, his gaze so unfamiliar it was almost laughable.
As if he were looking at a complete stranger.
Yet I clearly remembered what he used to be like in my heart.
The person I used to chase after, calling out “big brother” again and again.
The one I regarded as a hero, who once said, “As long as I’m here, you have nothing to fear.”
Now, from the same mouth, all that came out was disgust and wariness.
He stared at me, as if he had finally found his voice again.
“Aria, how did you become like this?”
“Have you really lost all sense of reason?”
He took a deep breath, as though forcibly suppressing his emotions.
“Three years in prison—was that still not enough to make you understand that assaulting someone is illegal?”
When he said this, his voice was trembling.
As if h
