Chapter 38
Arya’s POV • • I stood there. Frozen. His words echoed in my head like a cruel chant. “Was there anything to be broken?” I wasn’t sure what hit harder—those words or the way he looked at me like I was nothing. Like everything that happened between us earlier was just… my imagination. I swallowed, but it felt like something heavy was stuck in my throat. The maids were long gone now. It was just me, standing at the bottom of that grand staircase, feeling smaller than I ever had. I turned around slowly, my body moving before my mind could even catch up. Why did I think he was different? Why did I think… I mattered? I made my way to the kitchen. I had told the cooks to wait. They were all there, quiet, waiting for direction. I gave them a small smile—a mask, shaky and brittle—and st
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