“Who do you see…?”
The words slipped from her lips before she could stop them. And the instant they left her mouth, silence crashed down like thunder.
Kai stilled. She felt his fingers slacken against hers, saw his body retreat. In hesitation. His gaze faltered, slid away from her face as if the weight of her question burned too much to hold.
Abigail’s chest caved in on itself. That single falter, that small hesitation...he might as well have confessed outright. Her lungs seized, her ribs constricted, and it hurt to breathe.
The truth struck like a blade that twisted slow and merciless in her chest. Her pulse throbbed violently in her ears. She willed the tears to fall, desperate for release, but her eyes stayed dry, as though even grief rejected her. The silence she carried was louder
