Chapter 244
Felix
"Why so sad?"
The voice drifts like music, soft, melodic—one I could recognize even with my eyes closed.
Edith.
"Miss Edith," I acknowledge without turning, my gaze fixed elsewhere. My arms are folded, my back pressed against the cold marble pillar of the hall.
Across the courtyard, Poppy laughs. Laughs—with him.
That bastard hands her a flower. She plucks a petal with delicate fingers, pops it into her mouth, then giggles when he copies her. They look ridiculous. Sweet. Intimate. My chest tightens painfully, a sour heat rising up my throat.
I scoff, bitter.
I told myself I'd come to wish her a happy birthday. Even after how things ended. Even after the walls she put between us. Some stubborn part of me still wanted to give her that much.
But she's smiling at him. Not me.
"Ah, the Longear," Edith says lightly, her green eyes following my line of sight.
"I take it you've heard," I mutter, jaw tightening.
