#Chapter 16: The Breaking

(Evelyn’s POV) Logan breaks something in me that I didn’t even know was still fragile. I try to pretend I’m fine as I leave the seminar. I even smile at one of the younger healers who thanks me for my teachings. I nod, murmur a kind “you’re doing well,” and retreat to my quarters in the palace like I haven’t just been gutted. But the moment the door closes behind me, the air shifts. It becomes unbearable. The silence presses in like water over a drowning head. Every breath feels heavier. Thicker. My chest tightens, and I grip the edge of my writing desk to steady myself. I can still hear his voice. “You inserted yourself into my life.” As if I were nothing more than an inconvenience. A shadow creeping too close to his spotlight. I’d loved him. Gods, I had loved him with a devotion I’d buried in every quiet moment, every soft smile, every simple act of care. I gave him parts of me I’d never get back—and he reduced all of it to suspicion and strategy. I shove ope