-Ezra:
I could feel it the moment his words settled in the air.
They didn't just hang there—they pressed.
Heavy. Sharp. Real.
Sebastian's voice, still echoing in the room, still carrying that quiet, terrifying truth behind it, started to crawl under my skin. It wasn't loud anymore. It wasn't aggressive. But somehow, that made it worse.
Because now… it sounded honest.
And honesty was harder to fight.
My arms—still wrapped around Julian—didn't loosen all at once. It wasn't that simple. It was slower than that. Subtle. Almost unnoticeable at first.
But I felt it.
That hesitation.
That thought is creeping in.
What if he's right?
My fingers, which had been holding him so securely, so instinctively, started to ease… just slightly. Not enough to let go, but enough to question the hold.
Because for the first time since I found him again… since I kissed him, held him, claimed him as mine—
I thought about how I'm able to hurt him.
Not wanting to.
But doing it anyway.
