Willow’s POV

The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains of my hotel room, casting long shadows on the floor. I barely noticed it. My mind was consumed by the whispers I had overheard the day before, the fragmented details about Axel and his deteriorating condition playing on a loop in my mind.

Axel was dying.

Even now, it felt unreal to connect the vibrant, overconfident man I once knew with the lifeless figure those hushed voices had described. I had to find out the truth. I ...