I didn’t know what I expected.
But the tension in the room didn’t ease.
It just tightened.
My throat burned.
And then the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“I can’t do this.”
Bastion lifted his head slowly.
His eyes locked on mine.
I kept going. Quiet. Honest. Exposed.
“I thought I could, but I can’t.”
Luca stood, but didn’t come closer.
“I like you.”
My voice cracked.
“I like both of you. And I know how fucked that is. I know what it makes me.”
Neither of them spoke.
So I stepped back, shaking my head.
“And I know what comes next. You’ll want me to pick. To make it simple. To make it easier. But I can’t. I won’t.”
My fingers curled at my sides.
“Because it’s not easier. It’s impossible. You’re not the same. Even if you look it. Even if you move in sync and think alike and carry the same goddamn scars—you’re not.”
Bastion was still staring at me, his jaw clenched tight.
“You’re fire and stone,” I said, eyes darting between them. “One of you cuts and the other cauterizes. You feel different. You move different. You touch different. And you both… you both make me feel things I didn’t think I could feel again.”
The room felt too small.
My voice too loud.
“And I won’t be the reason you hate each other.”
That was the truth that had lived in my chest all day.
The truth that made me walk out of class.
Stare at the ceiling in the library.
Rehearse this in my head.
“I’m not going to rip you apart.”
Luca finally stepped forward. “Emilia?—”