Page 141 of Emylia

“I–ah…” Damn. How was I meant to navigate this? “Just one minute. Please.”

His eyes darkened with the weight of what I was asking, and I knew it broke him. He didn’t move at first. Just stood there, gaze locked on mine like he could see into my soul. Like he understood how much choosing between them broke every part of me.

Then—slowly—he stepped closer.

His voice brushed against me, quiet and raw. “You don’t have to decide right now.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“If you still don’t know what you want… then find out.” His eyes held mine like the truth was too big to contain. “Be sure. Be damn sure. And if that means seeing what it’s like to be with him too…” His jaw clenched, like the words physically hurt. “Then do it.”

My breath caught. My heart cracked straight down the middle.

“Because what we have?” He leaned in, lips grazing the edge of my cheek like a brand. “Nothing will ever come close. But I won’t beg you to see it. I’ll let you feel it.” His voice dropped, softer now. “Just… don’t forget to give me the chance to show you what we could be. What it would feel like, to completely be loved by me.”

It wasn’t a dare.

It was permission.

And then—he stepped back.

Not far. Just enough.

Enough to knock the breath from my lungs. Because he never stepped back. Sebastian was fire and chaos and the kind of stubborn that always fought for us. For me.

But now, for the first time, he didn’t.

He chose to let me go.

At least enough to show he trusted me. Trusted me to choose myself. To give me the choice that could ruin us both.

And the worst part?

I let him.

I let him be the better man—and I hated myself for it. Because it should’ve been him.

Ithad alwaysbeen him.

But I wasn’t sure anymore.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Istood there, frozen between the two halves of my heart, and didn’t say a single word. Because I didn’t know which one I’d lose—or which loss would destroy me more.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “I’m just gonna give you two a minute.”

Something that sounded an awful lot likethanksslipped from me, but I couldn’t be sure I’d actually said it aloud.

A heartbeat passed and then another before I worked up the courage to say something.

“Hey,”a breathless whisper escaped me.

“Hey.” Maalikai closed the distance between us, and the warmth of his breath caught the loose strands of my hair, making them dance across my cheek.

“May I?”

I nodded.

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