—
Days passed. Then weeks.
Every time he saw her, it was like watching someone hold their breath underwater.
She wasn’t just angry. She was hurt.
And he hated himself for being the one to put that look in her eyes.
He’d started noticing things. How she lingered near the command board, eyeing maps of lone wolf and rogue activity in the woods. How her eyes narrowed when the word “explorer” came up during briefings. How she pulled back whenever someone mentioned missing family, especially mothers.
Roland started asking around. Discreetly.
And eventually, he found out what the soldier had said to her that day. The one who’d brought up her mother. The one who’d tried to shame her for something she never had control over.
That was the same day he made his stupid joke.
He felt sick.
---
