"Don't lie…"
I took a step back without realizing it, my thoughts spiraling as everything Severin had said tangled together in my mind.
Severin tilted his head slightly, studying me. "Just because you don't want to believe it," he said calmly, "doesn't mean you can deny the truth."
"And just because both my father and mother are gone," I shot back, my voice shaking despite myself, "you think you can twist the truth however you like?"
I clenched my fists.
"I'll defend them," I continued, my chest tight. "Even if I never met them. Even if all I have are their names and stories." My voice lowered, firm. "Because I know this isn't the whole truth."
Severin's smile faded, not into anger but into something colder.
"Oh, I never said it was," he replied quietly. "But denial won't bring them back. And it won't erase the choices they made."
The room felt heavier with every word.
"And you," he added, his gaze sharp, "are standing right in the middle of what those choices created."
