Cassel — POV
God knows how close my heart came to stopping when I saw that man attacking Rosalia.
Even now, as the memory replays in slow, agonizing detail, I can still feel that frozen second—
the moment the world narrowed into a single point of terror.
I almost lost her.
Those four words alone were enough to fracture something inside me. The thought clawed its way through my chest, its weight so suffocating that breathing felt like a punishment.
I almost lost the only person in this world who loves me.
The only person who looks at me and sees something other than a monster or a weapon.
The only soul who offers me warmth without expecting anything in return.
I almost lost my only salvation.
That truth sank its teeth into me and refused to let go.
It echoed inside my skull with a relentless rhythm.
I couldn't stop imagining it—
couldn't stop torturing myself with every possible version of What if?
What if I hadn't gone to the garden at that exact moment?
