Lara's POV
I did not want to look at Marco, not after everything. The truth was sharp enough to make breathing feel like a punishment. I had no right to question his intentions because from the beginning I already knew what I was in his life. A contract wife, a pawn to a prophecy he refused to accept. I understood that, I swallowed it. I kept my expectations low so my heart would not break.
But he told me he loved me. He looked me in the eyes, touched me like I mattered, spoke to me like I was someone worth choosing. And I believed him. I let that fragile hope grow inside me like a fool because something in the way he held me made it feel safe to trust him. His warmth felt real. His laughter felt real. His promises felt real. I allowed myself to imagine that maybe, just maybe, I had found a place in his life where I was not temporary.
