Meadow’s POV:

I froze, my breath stuttering. For a second, everything just… blurred out. Alaric didn’t say another word. He just held me tightly. The water droplets on his skin felt hot all of a sudden.

“Oh,” I whispered, my throat tight as I tried to swallow.

Alaric didn’t look at me. His face remained buried in my neck, his breath uneven, as if just saying those words had cost him something.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him. “You should’ve told me.”

“I didn’t ...