~Hermes~

My breath hitches as my fingers tremble over the letter. This has to be a joke. A mistake. A cruel prank.

June wouldn't leave me.

We made a vow. We promised—

I swallow hard and look up at my father. Lucien Grande has never been good at lying. His face has always betrayed him. And yet right now… he is perfectly calm.

"Father," I say quietly. "Why did she leave?"

He sits in the chair beside my bed, folding his hands. "She stayed for—"

"Wait." I lift my finger, stopping him. ...