Livia walked back toward the main house in a daze, her steps slow, her heartbeat strangely unsteady. The noise from the forest—the screams, the clashes, the chaos—faded into a distant hum she barely registered.
Aldrake's words swallowed everything else.
I love you…
I escaped the forest for you…
I will try everything to win you back…
Each sentence replayed inside her mind with stubborn clarity, pushing aside the horror of the Lunar Game, replacing it with a different kind of fear—one that dug deep into her chest and refused to let go.
By the time she reached the hallway leading to her room, her breath was uneven.
She closed the door behind her and sat on the edge of the bed, fingers trembling slightly as she pressed them against her forehead.
She shouldn't feel like this. She shouldn't let his words affect her.
But they did.
They echoed, louder than the screams that haunted her last night.
"Why now…?" she whispered to herself.
