Alina’s POV
My knuckles whitened around the steering wheel, the leather pressing into my skin as though trying to keep me grounded. My teeth dug into my lower lip, the sharp sting a poor distraction from the ache swelling in my chest.
It’s for the best, Alina, I whispered to myself, forcing my lips into a smile that felt like it might crack. My voice trembled, the words tasting like ash. The moment I closed my eyes, his face flashed before me—the hurt in his eyes when I told him it was over—and my throat tightened. The first tear slid hot down my cheek, and then another, until I could barely see the road ahead.
It felt as if someone had carved a piece of me out and left the hollow raw. I could lie to the world, put on my perfect smile, but I couldn’t fool myself. I had fallen for him—an
