Lily’s POV
Andrew didn’t speak for a long time.
I looked at our entwined hands.
He stood in front of his mother’s grave the way a boy stands before a locked door—wanting to go in, terrified of what waits behind it. The breeze tugged at his hair, his suit, but he didn’t move. I waited, silently, not breathing, not wanting to break whatever was unraveling inside him.
Then finally—
“I should’ve protected her.”
His voice cracked.
Not the polished, controlled, ruthless tone I was used to.
No.
His voice broke.
I stepped closer, but not too close. I didn’t want to scare him back into silence.
He swallowed, staring at the marble. “My father… he destroyed her. Piece by piece. Day by day. He turned our house into a battlefield and her into a casualty.”
His hands curled into fists at his
