— MARA
He left.
Of course he left.
After dropping that line like it meant nothing, he just walked away.
Mine to keep alive.
As if I was a thing. A possession.
As if I hadn't spent my entire life fighting to be more than what people expected.
I sank onto the bed. Hands shaking.
Not from fear.
From rage.
How dare he? How dare he walk into my life, ruin everything, and then claim ownership like it was his right?
I wasn't his.
I wasn't anyone's.
But even as the thought formed, I remembered the feel of his fingers around my wrist. The way his pulse had synced with mine. The heat of him standing so close I could smell leather and something darker.
Stop it, Mara.
He was a monster. A criminal. A man who'd built his life on violence and control.
I shouldn't be thinking about him at
