Chapter 33

Subhi

He pulled away so fast that it felt like the warmth between us had never existed. One moment, I was holding him, feeling the weight of his pain against me, and the next, he was gone—retreating, distancing himself, as if the moment had been a mistake.

I blinked, my arms still slightly raised as if trying to hold onto something that had already slipped away. My throat felt dry, my mind a mess of thoughts I couldn’t untangle.

“I—” His voice was barely there, shaky. He clenched his fists, his entire body tensed, like he was trying to suppress something he didn’t want me to see. “I need to go.”

And before I could say anything, before I could even process what was happening, he turned and walked away.

I should have stopped him. I should have said something—anything. But I just stood there, watching as he disappeared, the distance between us stretching further than just the physical space.

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to calm the strange ache that had settled there.

Why did this feel so heavy?

Why did it feel like I had just lost something I never even had?

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