"You hate pain, yet you still push yourself like this? Noelle Hartwell, have you lost your mind?"

The man’s voice lacked its usual coldness. It was soft, filled with tenderness—but more than that, it carried the helplessness and ache of someone dealing with an unruly child.

Noelle couldn’t wake up.

Even though the faint rational part of her told her that something was off, that she needed to open her eyes and face reality, she simply ...