When Catherine stepped back, traces of her tears still lingered on her lashes...
But Maximilian felt nothing.
No pain.
No echo of her emotions.
Nothing at all.
The numbness settled into his chest like a grave.
And somehow, it was far worse than the agony he had endured moments ago.
She looked straight into his eyes.
The warmth that once lived there was gone. Her green gaze glinted coldly, distant, as though he were nothing more than a stranger she had finished dissecting.
And there was nothing he could do.
Catherine kept retreating.
Two meters.
Five meters.
Ten meters—
She pushed the distance deliberately, slowly.
Yes, she had been dragged through an emotional storm. Yes, her heart had cracked open. But she had reached a decision.
She would not allow herself to be ruled by her heart ever again.
Maximilian... that liar... would never touch her emotions anymore.
She would not beg.
She would not interrogate.
She would not seek to understand him.
