Chapter 72

• Rose's POV
• Yesterday, when I told Tristan about Kavian, his reaction cut deeper than I expected. He freaked out—his voice sharp, his eyes wide with betrayal. But what wounded me most wasn’t his anger, it was the disappointment in his face. The kind of look that makes your chest ache because you know you’ve let someone down without meaning to. We’re best friends—always have been—so of course he’d feel hurt that I kept something from him. Still, I can’t help but wonder… what if I had gone further? What if I had told him the truth that even I can hardly admit to myself—that I am in love with Kavian?
• He’d probably think I’d lost my mind. Maybe I have. Because honestly, nothing in my world makes sense anymore without him. Somehow, in such a short time, Kavian has stolen everything from me—my heart, my thoughts, even the quiet in my soul. He is still a mystery, a storm I cannot fully understand, and yet my life feels incomplete when he is not near. How does that even happen? How does someone feel like they’ve always been part of you when you’ve only known them for a few fleeting weeks?