Eight months into their long-distance relationship, Ash met someone else.
It wasn't intentional. Ash had been faithful to Luna in every way that mattered. But loneliness had carved a hollow space inside him that dreamscapes couldn't fill, and when someone warm and physical and present offered comfort, he'd weakened.
Her name was Rowan. She taught history at the academy, had kind eyes, and a quick laugh. She'd been watching Ash struggle for months, had seen the exhaustion in his face from maintaining a relationship with someone who couldn't physically exist beside him.
It started innocently. Rowan brought Ash coffee one morning when he looked particularly tired. They talked about their students, about curriculum, about mundane academy politics. Normal conversation that required nothing f
