Aurora’s P.O.V

I swallowed, emotions warring inside me. Why did he always have to say things like that? Things that made my heart clench and my walls crack just a little bit more? I looked away, focusing on the sound of the waves in the distance.

I had thought this would be simple. Just a small conversation, an adjustment—one that would make things easier for both of us. I glanced up at him, watching the way the dim light caught the sharp angles of his face, the quiet ...