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"I was too young to think of anything but being her friend. I'd bring her little things—crushed berries, cool stones from the river. Sometimes I'd shift just to make her laugh. And when she finally did... gods, it felt like I'd won something."

He glanced at Seren then, something weary in his eyes.

"I was just trying to be kind. I didn't realise back then that she needed more than kindness. That she was looking for someone to make her feel safe. And loved. And later, when she started leaningharder, I thought—maybe I owed her that. For helping her come out of the dark."

He exhaled hard.

"But I wasn't the boy she needed. I wasn't the man she deserved. And somewhere along the way, I forgot that being loyal to her didn't mean letting her push past boundaries."

Seren turned her face away, the wind catching a few strands of her hair.

"I told myself I was helping her, protecting her. But all I was doing was giving her space to pull me in too deep."

"And when you finally saw me hurting?" she asked quietly, her voice steady but raw.

He closed his eyes. His face was twisted with remembered agony. "That horrible moment when you walked in on us. That was the moment I realised I'd failed the one person who mattered the most. My heart."

Her lips trembled, but she said nothing.

"There's a reason I never slept with her," he added, voice low. "Even when I could've. Even when she kept pushing for it. My body knew what my mind refused to accept. That it was always you. Always. If you had come in a few seconds later, you would have seen me push her away. That was never going to happen. All I have ever wanted is you."

He turned toward her fully, their knees brushing.

"I should never have let her get that close. That's on me. I messed up. But never again. Not if the cost is you. Your pain. Your silence."

His thumb traced circles over the back of her hand.

"Never again."

"She was using me. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. Sorry, I let you carry that pain alone. But I'm not that boy anymore, Seren. I swear it on the moon."

She blinked fast, gaze falling to the ring of calluses on his fingers. His hand was warm around hers.

"I should have fought for you from the start," he said. "I cannot change how I was in the past. Those are stains on my soul that will remain. I regret them like nothing else. But I'm here now. And I'll never let go again. If you would just give me one chance."

Seren looked away; throat tight.

But when he leaned in, brushing his temple against hers, she didn't turn away.

Chapter 67

Seren looked at their joined hands.

His thumb still moved in slow, absent strokes across her skin, as if trying to memorize her. As if trying to remind her.

She should've pulled away.

Should've said something sharp, cold, and final to end this moment between them.

But her hand didn't move.

Gods help her, but a part of her still wanted to believe him.

Still remembered the boy who used to watch her like she was the sun on snow. Who used to run ahead just to clear the path for her feet. Who'd bring her wildflowers in awkward silence because he didn't know how to sayI missed you.

That boy had been hers.

And then he'd vanished—drowned under the weight of ambition, expectation, and the soft spell of a girl who was not her.