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CHAPTER 213
~Valerie's POV~
I didn't look back even as the weight of his confession clung to my skin like mist, I kept walking. One foot in front of the other. That's all I could do. That's all I knew how to do right now.
The air outside was cooler than I expected. A gentle breeze tousled my hair as I stepped out into the fading sunlight. My hoodie stayed up, shielding more than just my face.
It was my armour and right now, I needed it.
I let my legs take me anywhere—nowhere in particular. Just… away. Away from Ash's pleading eyes, away from the guilt, the confusion, the vulnerability clawing through my chest like it wanted to rip free.
Why did he have to say it?
Why now?
I wasn't ready to let anyone in. Not when the one person I thought I could trust, the one I thought would see me and know me—Dristan—had ripped the ground from beneath my feet.