Nicholas~
I bolted out of the breakfast hall, the heavy double doors slamming shut behind me like a thunderclap that rattled the quiet palace corridors. The sound echoed off the marble walls, sharp and unforgiving—just like the words I'd thrown at her moments ago. My heart was hammering in my chest, not in rhythm but in chaos, a wild and uneven beat that mirrored the storm raging in my head. Winter—my Winter—had walked out on me. Shoulders stiff. Chin high. But her eyes… gods, those blue eyes had betrayed her. Tears had shimmered there, catching the light like broken glass. And I had been the one to put them there.
