Genevieve's POV
My feet carried me down the empty corridor, each step echoing off the stone walls. The sound seemed to grow louder with every movement, matching the thundering of my heart against my ribs.
I had said no to Kaelen. I had looked into those desperate eyes and refused him.
The memory of his face haunted me already. The way his expression crumpled when I turned him away. How his voice broke when he said I was a stranger to him now. The raw plea for help that I had denied.
What other option did I have? The instant I made contact with that delicate, she would witness everything hidden in my mind. Every secret I carried. Every deception I had crafted. Every compromise I had made to shield those I cared about. She would discover Benedict's grip on me. She would see the tasks I had completed for him. The intelligence I had shared. The ways I had deceived Kaelen while he remained oblivious.
Then Kaelen would learn the truth too.
