HAZEL
"Us?" He caught my wrist. Held it firm. "There is no us. You made that very clear."
"I was being realistic." I let tears gather in my eyes. Not real tears. But he wouldn't know the difference. "I was trying to protect myself from the inevitable. From the moment when my father marries me off to some Alpha I've never met and I lose everything."
"But Fia..." he started.
"Fia is different." I cut him off. "We made that happen. We orchestrated it. And Cian is a man. Men get to choose. I don't."
The tears spilled over. I let them fall.
"I couldn't take the heartbreak," I whispered. "Of getting close to you. Of letting myself really love you. And then losing it all anyway."
Milo's grip on my wrist loosened.
"But if it's what you want." I looked up at him through wet lashes. "If you really want to tell Cian everything. Then I'll accept it. I'll accept whatever comes."
"Hazel..."
