Elena's POV
The door clicked shut behind him.
I stood there, alone in the guest room, every breath scraping against the inside of my ribs. My legs didn't move. Couldn't. It felt like my whole body had been hollowed out.
He still loved me.
That was the worst part.
Not the anger in his voice, not the betrayal in his eyes—but the pain. The hope he still carried, buried under everything I'd broken.
I pressed my hand to my chest, as if I could quiet the ache there. As if I could hold in the flood that threatened to drown me.
Why didn't I tell him sooner?
Why did I let the silence grow teeth?
And now… now he knew. And the truth had carved a canyon between us.
I didn't choose him, I'd said. And it was true.
But I hadn't chosen Callum either.
