The words sucked the air straight from my lungs.

For a second, all I could do was stare. Blank. Hollow. Empty. Like my brain had short-circuited and forgotten how to function.

Then it hit me.

“No.” My voice cracked, sharp, desperate. “No, no, no. You don’t get to just— You don’t get to tell me that like it’s some scheduling conflict. This isn’t—” My throat burned. My eyes blurred. “This isn’t happening.”

But Luther…

Luther didn’t flinch.

He didn’t move, ...