Page 227 of The Bittersweet Bond

“For who?”

He looked away.

“For you?”

Silence.

That was answer enough.

Evin unfastened her seatbelt with a sharp click. “I can’t do this anymore.”After all we've been through. After allIhave been through…

She opened the door.

“Evin, wait.”

His voice was quiet, but she heard the strain in it.

She was already outside.

The warm air smothered her, thick and inescapable.

She didn’t turn around.

Didn’t look at him.

The anger burned in her chest, in her throat, in every part of her body.

And then—“Forget it, Bas.”

Her voice was steady.

Too steady.

“I’ll save you the trouble.”

And with that, she slammed the door shut.

__________

Sebastian

He blinked as she slammed the car door shut. The dull impact echoed in his ears, vibrating through his bones, as if she hadn’t just shut the door—but something inside him, too.

His eyes followed her as she walked up the driveway, her shoulders tense, her chin lifted high, the night air biting at her skin—but she didn’t let it show. Every step was an unspoken rejection, a silent I get it.

He could get out now.

Could run after her, take her hand, make her look at him, listen to him, believe him when he said he had no other choice.

But his body wouldn’t move.

His fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly it hurt, his knuckles stark white. He felt like he wasn’t even in this moment anymore, like he was watching himself from the outside, like none of this was really happening.

He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the headrest, trying to loosen the tightness in his chest, but it didn’t help. This wasn’t a weight he could shake off with a deep breath. This was hollow, a bottomless feeling, as if someone had cut open his chest and taken the most vital part.

This wasn’t how he had planned for it to go.

He had thought he could control this. That he could take the decision away from her, guide her toward the right path without making it feel like a betrayal. That he could frame it in a way that wouldn’t feel like an ending, but an inevitable, logical step.

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