"Brother…" Ashley choked out, her voice breaking as she tried to look at Apollo, though his face was nothing more than a blur through the tears clouding her vision. No matter how much he wiped them away, they only kept falling, faster, heavier, as if something inside her had finally shattered.
Grief and helplessness swelled in her chest, leaving her trembling under their weight. She wanted to tell him everything, every truth she had been carrying alone, every secret that had haunted her, but fear tightened its grip around her resolve.
What if knowing too much only dragged them into danger? What if the truth became the very thing that destroyed them?
Even now, she was still hiding, clinging to what little distance she had from Nathan, yet she knew it was only a matter of time before he found her.
