The silence in the room was a heavy, suffocating thing after my confession. Antalya stood frozen, her beautiful face stark white, her eyes wide and unblinking. She wasn’t crying yet. She was just… processing. And the wait was agony.

I watched her, my own heart a frantic, painful drum against my ribs. I had just handed her a world of pain, and I was the one who had built its foundations.

“They… they were targeting me?” she finally whispered, the words so soft I had to strain to hear ...