Chapter 175

Christina's POV My shoulder felt damp. I glanced down. His face was a mask of indifference, but the wet patch on my sweatshirt betrayed him. He'd allowed himself a few minutes to lower his shields, to fall apart in my arms. Now, the walls were back up. Locked tight without warning. "My mother was on medication—antipsychotics, I think. She was obsessed with Reginald, couldn't bear hearing anything negative about him. Even when he stopped calling, even after his engagement, she kept waiting. When she finally realized he was never coming back, she just... snapped. Maybe it started as love, but by the end, it was pure fury. She couldn't direct that rage at him, so she turned it on me." He rubbed his knuckles, his left hand digging into his thigh. "I thought she blamed me. I thought she abandoned me because she couldn't stand the sight of me anymore. But months later, I overheard Reginald and Gwendolyn fighting. He was shouting, saying she'd gone to see my mother, just hours before she—" He