Chapter 95. Valen’s Confession

Valen sat down, his movements slow and deliberate, as if afraid one wrong step would break the fragile air between them. Across from him, Ella sat rigidly, her eyes rimmed with the evidence of tears she had yet to completely hide. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, clearing her throat.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, her voice still hoarse from crying. She straightened her back, trying to project a calm she didn’t feel. “You can… you can go on.”

Valen’s chest tightened. He wasn’t sure where to start, or if he should even start at all. But the weight of unspoken truths was suffocating him. He took a deep breath, his crimson eyes fixed on the table between them.

“I had a mate once. Her name was Lydia.”

Ella’s brow twitched, but she didn’t interrupt, simply leaning forward slightly, her posture attentive. Valen paused, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. Memories he’d locked away clawed their way to the surface.

“She was my everything,” Valen sa