Chapter 163. The War Is Near

Xerina’s POV

I felt my father’s hand squeeze my shoulder, a rare show of comfort. “He’s confused, Xerina. The curse has twisted his memories—his whole reality. You can’t expect him to accept the truth overnight.”

I pulled away from him, taking a shaky breath as I wrapped my arms around myself. “But what if he never remembers? What if he never forgives me? How am I supposed to fight for us when he doesn’t even believe there’s an us worth fighting for?”

My father stepped around to face me, his expression hardening, though there was a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. “Then you make him believe. Rasmus may not remember everything, but there’s a part of him that still feels it. You saw it just now. The way he hesitated. That’s the part of him that still knows the truth, deep down. He’s just scared.”

“Scared of what?” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “Of me?”

“Of losing himself to something he can’t understand,” my father replied, his voice dee