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The aisles were empty, and nothing interested me. But when I got to the large oak table at the corner, it was clear why my heart led me here. I could see a memory of Mira and I talking and laughing at the table. During her short stay in the palace, the library had turned into a meet-up point of some sort for us, and almost all my interactions with her were at the table.

My fingers trailed the edges of the table, marveling at how much memory an inanimate object can hold. Then, a feminine silhouette that looked a lot like Mira appeared on my right.

A dry chuckle escaped my lips. I have moved from drunk and shitfaced to hallucinating. I shook my head in an attempt to clear the image, but it persisted, not moving from the spot.

My wolf stirred, and I froze. “Mira?” I muttered as though she would evaporate if my voice came out too strongly.

She stepped out from the shadowy corner, a vision in a white slip dress and tired eyes.

“Are you okay? Did Victor do anything wrong?” I asked, and even though my wolf urged me to get closer to her, I maintained a safe distance, not trusting my actions.

“I’m okay. I was just taking a walk,” she replied, sinking into the sofa next to the table. “Why are you here?”

“Me? I needed some errr, some air,” I stuttered, feeling like an absolute idiot.

The wind chose that moment to sweep through the library, and I had to brace myself on a shelf as the effects of my drinking were not completely gone.

“Are you drunk?” She asked, her eyes deep with concern.

I chuckled. “Only a little.”

A quiet moment passed before I decided to bare my heart. We were already at the finish line. What could I possibly have to lose?

“I’m really sorry about everything, Mira. I should’ve treated you better. I should have been the mate the moon goddess intended me to be to you.”

She let out a low laugh. “Now you’re suddenly a fan of the moon goddess?”

“I was a fool, and I was wrong.”

Another silent moment passed before she spoke. “Why?”

I lifted a questioning brow, urging her to go on.

“I have never met a man so hell-bent on proving the goddess wrong and refusing everything without a trial. What made you this way?”

“What made you this way?”

That was a great question, great enough to have me settling into the sofa next to her.

I toyed with the idea of letting her into my past, but I also didn’t want her pity. Eventually, emotions won over common sense, and I began my tale.

“My parents, they were the picture-perfect couple, the celebrated match for the season and the goddess’s most brilliant pair. I don’t know the point they discovered they weren’t meant to be, but when they did, they stayed together, maintaining that it was the will of the goddess.”

I sucked in a deep breath, wishing I had left my room with a bottle of liquor, while Mira soaked up my words like a sponge, her eyes filled with questions.

“To the outside world, they looked like a fairytale, but behind closed doors, I woke up to shouts and insults being hurled. Sometimes, the fights got so bad I had to hide from them.”

“Griffin…” Mira whispered, her voice strained.

“Don’t pity me, Mira. There are a lot of things you can give me. Pity shouldn’t be one of them. You asked me a question. Let me answer it.”

She swallowed her words, and I continued.

“For years, I asked questions about why they remained together, and I was told that the goddess makes no mistakes, and it was her will for them to be together. Eventually, Father got tired of it and sought comfort in the arms of a palace maid. Mather couldn’t take the shame and poisoned herself. Father nursed a broken heart for years, mourning all his mistakes until his heart couldn’t take it anymore, and he finally joined her. So, I vowed to choose. I promised I wouldn’t be a victim of the same fate that destroyed my parents. I let the fear of ending up like them rid me of the best thing that had ever happened to me.”

I felt her soft hand wrap around mine, drawing soft circles on my pal. “You should’ve told me.”

“I didn’t think it mattered, and honestly, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. I was angry and deeply rooted in my resolve. There’s nothing you could’ve done to change the outcome. This was all me.”