Aiden’s POV

It’s been five years since Rue walked out of my life, since she disappeared with our daughter and took whatever remained of my soul with her. And still, the emptiness refuses to leave me.

Time was supposed to numb it. Everyone said it would. That the sting of betrayal would dull, that grief would eventually give way to peace. But for me, it didn’t.

If anything, the edges grew sharper, more jagged, carving deeper every time I remembered how she looked at me before she left. ...