ready braced

ares were no longer enough. Now it simply stayed - deep, insistent, and exhausting. I sat on the edge of the b

of waking

of the

f the s

meone who had publ

ng air was cool against my face, but it did nothing to calm the restless energy under my

rd the machines. The routine was already becoming familiar. I tied the apron tig

y orders

hands busy and my expression blank. But underneath the steady rhythm of the café, the bond continued its relentl

e sink. Another wave rolled through me - frustration, tension, and something raw th

muttered under my breath. "I

ul expression. She didn't ask questions. She simply passed me a gl

tensed for half a second before I could stop it. Some stupid, leftover part of me was still waiting for Kael

felt scraped raw. Ruth told me to come back the next day

ighten with every step, as if it hated the direction I was walking. By

stood in the middle of t

k and o

I had been carrying this ache for months instead of days. The silence from him was starting to feel like its own

e bed and put my

She didn't care about the public humiliation. She only knew that her mate was on the other

re not going back. He chose someone else. He doe

ion bleeding through was painfully clear - agitation, restlessness, a strained kind of anger. Kael

o

was eatin

I still cared en

lothed. The ceiling above me was starting to feel familiar in the worst way. Another ni

t and spoke into the dark, e

not ca

not com

ot break

pulsed hard, a

onto my anger like it was

uld go back t

building the life he

ould keep ch

nd kept punish

ll loved him enough to

ot goin