Chapter 54. Scared

Valerie

Wasn't it funny how one single moment could alter everything? Suddenly, every other worry felt like grains of sand against an hourglass, too small and paltry to be bothered with.

I had felt that several times already. Once, shortly after I was reborn and decided to leave. The other, when Tristan bled out unconscious, making me abandon all my boundaries and the third, when he told me he loved me.

Strangely enough, of all of them, this felt like the most painful one.

I stood frozen, my eyes locked on Tristan's face. The panic inside me rose like a tidal wave.

The weight of my deception hung heavy in the air, suffocating me.

He knew now, and he'd found out in the worst way.

The silence was oppressive, thick with tension. I felt like I was drowning in it, unable to breathe. Tristan remained still, as though frozen in time.

Then, finally, he spoke.

“Is it true?” His voice low and stony against the stillness ma