All Luka could do was close his eyes.
The sight of her like this cut deeper than any wound he had ever taken. This was the woman he had promised to protect, not with words spoken lightly, but with a vow he had carried since childhood. And now she was breaking in front of him, piece by piece, while he stood there helpless.
If only he had trusted his instincts.
He had sensed it back then that something was off. That something was wrong about the man she chose to marry. The way Maximilian’s presence felt different. Luka had seen it and ignored it, telling himself he was overstepping, that Evelyn was an adult, that love made its own rules.
He had been wrong.
The guilt settled heavily in his chest, thick and suffocating. If he had spoken up. If he had pushed harder. If he had been braver i
