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When she finally turned her face to look at him, it was with an expression he had never seen on her face. Disgust. Like she was looking at a particularly loathsome specimen.

When she finally spoke, her voice was ice over fire.

"This is the difference between us, Hagan."

Her face was still and heartbreakingly calm.

"If you had felt even a fraction of what I feel for you... you would've known that the way you treated me these last few months—the absence, the silence, the smell of her on you—it could only ever lead here."

She paused.

"My mind is made up. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

The silence stretched—quiet and final.

"Leave me alone."

The healers came, gently asking him to leave.

And this time, Hagan did.

Because she meant it.

Walked out, feeling hollow.

That night, he returned.

He begged her to listen.

"I'll keep you here if I have to," he said, his voice tinged in desperation. "I won't let you go until we talk calmly."

Seren said nothing.

She lay with her back to him, facing the wall.

And he stood there, staring at the girl he loved and finally understood.

He had loved her for a long time.

Far longer than he'd ever admitted to himself. Long before the bond was sealed, long before the first kiss, even before he saw her as anything more than duty.

He just hadn't allowed himself to admit it.

Or maybe... he hadn't wanted to know.

Because knowing meant responsibility. Surrender. Vulnerability.

And now...

Now she was already gone from him.

Not in body—but in every other way that mattered. Pulling away until only a single shining thread connected them.

And Hagan could do nothing but watch her turn away from him.

And this time, he feared she wouldn't turn back.

Chapter 49