Elena's POV
The second the door shut behind him, I felt it.
The weight.
The ache in the air.
The kind of silence that doesn't soothe—it haunts.
I stood there for a moment, unmoving. Still in the clothes I'd thrown on after waking up from the best sleep I'd had in weeks.
And I'd ruined everything.
Again.
Callum's face stayed with me. The way his jaw clenched. The way his eyes dimmed the second I said the words, "Let's forget it happened."
I didn't mean them—not really.
But I said them because I had to.
Because if I didn't, everything would fall apart.
Julian. The plan. The war we were fighting. My already fractured heart couldn't afford another break.
I walked slowly back into the living room, past the candles Julian had left burning, the rose petals still scattered from the night before.
It should've felt romantic.
Instead, it felt like a lie.
Because while Julian had been planning forever… I'd been making mistakes in the dark.
