Elyse pov
The silence was unbearable.
I’d never noticed how much space Ronan filled until he was gone. How his presence had become background noise I’d grown accustomed to. Expected. Needed.
The library felt empty without him in his chair. The hallways are too quiet without his footsteps. Even my room felt wrong, knowing he wasn’t just down the corridor.
I missed him.
The realization hit me hard on the second day. Standing in the library, staring at his empty chair, feeling the mate bond stretch uncomfortably across the distance.
I missed him. Desperately. Completely.
And that terrified me.
Because missing someone meant caring, caring meant vulnerability. And vulnerability meant I could be hurt again.
But it was too late. I already cared. Already felt the absence like a wound.
A
