"I want to see the whole thing…" I muttered, and darkness swallowed me as I fell, collapsing into Darius's arms—
yet my mind was no longer here.
The world yanked open again.
I am standing in a hallway.
Cold stone.
Tall windows.
Moonlight slicing through the palace like a blade.
This is the east wing of the old palace.
It looks almost the same as the current one, but the walls feel heavier… as if drenched in secrets.
I hear footsteps.
Stumbling.
Uneven.
Drunken.
And then I see him.
Darius.
Or rather… the Darius of that timeline.
He is walking toward the crown princess's chamber—
Aria's chamber.
He is in the exact state I had seen earlier:
Shirt half-open
Pant zipper loose
Lipstick marks covering his skin
Hair a mess
Breathing heavy
Eyes unfocused
Reeking of Belleah's perfume
He looks like a man who has forgotten he even has a wife.
I hear a door open.
Aria—my past self—steps out.
She looks small.
Hopeful.
Terrified.
