Isla Prescott's words were like a stone dropped into a deep pool. They produced no echo, only ever-widening ripples of silence.
In that instant, it was as if all the sound had been drained from the world.
The air thickened into a transparent gel, making every breath she took feel thick and difficult.
After a long moment, Shane Sterling finally spoke. "I'm not just going to let it go."
His voice was so calm it bordered on obsessive.
Isla Prescott's eyelid twitched. "If you weren't going to agree with me, why did you even ask what I wanted?"
"I meant I won't give up on our relationship. As for you... you're free." He looked at her and let out a slow sigh. "Isabelle, I can't promise you a definite future right now. I can't predict what's going to happen next. But I won't ask you to wait for me anymore. Until I can truly control my own destiny, you don't have to be bound by this relationship at all."
"Even if I fall in love with someone else?"
