I woke to the grey hush of dawn creeping in through the torn silk curtains. Kieran was still asleep beside me, one arm draped across my waist, his body curved protectively around mine. But I couldn't feel peace. Not entirely.
The ache of last night lingered not just the physical, but the emotional unraveling that had brought us here. I'd surrendered in that moment not because I was whole, but because I was breaking, and he was the only thing holding me together.
And now?
Now I was awake, and the pain returned like a tide.
I slipped carefully from the bed, his arm falling to the mattress. I wrapped a soft robe around myself and padded barefoot across the cool stone floor to the balcony. Morning mist blanketed the ruined courtyard below.
Could I be rebuilt?
I gripped the railing, the wind tangling my hair. Shame clawed up my throat before I could swallow it.
"I shouldn't have done this," I whispered to myself.
"You didn't force yourself on me, you know."
I froze.
