Lily POV
I couldn't stop crying. Even wrapped in Nathan's arms, sitting on his comfortable couch with the soft glow of evening light filtering through the windows, the tears just kept coming. My chest ached with a pain that went deeper than anything physical, like something vital had been ripped out of me and left a gaping wound behind.
Nathan held me without saying a word, one hand rubbing slow circles on my back while the other cradled my head against his chest. I could hear his steady heartbeat beneath my ear, a calm rhythm that was so different from the chaos inside me.
I couldn't get the image out of my mind. Kai's face when I'd said the words. The way his eyes had widened with shock and disbelief, like he couldn't process what was happening. The way he'd lunged for me, trying to grab my arms, begging me to take it back.
"No, no, no," he'd said, his voice breaking. "Lily, please. Don't do this. We can fix this. Whatever's wrong, we can fix it."
