Chapter 95

• CIARA’S POV
• The silence that followed Sarah's explosion felt like it stretched for hours, though it was probably only seconds. Every conversation around us had stopped. Students turned to stare, drinks frozen halfway to their lips, whispers starting to ripple through the crowd.
• My face burned with humiliation. Sarah's words echoed in my head: I don't need you. The hurt cut deeper than I'd expected, but underneath it was something else. Confusion. I'd been trying to protect her, trying to keep her from making the same mistakes I'd watched people make before.A nd my people, I meant me. But she saw it as control, as me trying to keep her in my shadow.