“So… are you saying you don’t love me?”
Kai’s head snapped up at once, as if the sound of her voice had pierced straight through the fog he’d buried himself in. His eyes were wide, almost wild, his breath catching in his throat. For a heartbeat, he didn’t even look like the same man as every ounce of restraint he’d built came crumbling under the weight of her question.
“What?” His voice cracked. “No—God, no. Don’t say that. Don’t think that. I could never—” His words tumbled over themselves in a panic, ragged and unsteady, while his chest heaved as though the very thought tore him apart. “I love you. I still do. I never stopped. I just...I didn’t think I had the right to—”
He broke off, trembling, his hands pressed hard against the ground. “It's just...I fear I’d ruin you... So I though
