The silence after her words was different now. It wasn't just awkward or tense. It was final.
The room around them felt colder, like someone had opened a window to let all the warmth escape.
"If that's what he wants?" he echoed, his voice low, but edged with something sharp. "Really?"
Craig looked at her like he hadn't heard her right, like if he just stared long enough, hard enough, she might take it back.
But she didn't.
And that's what gutted him.
It felt like she was throwing away everything they had just built, everything they'd survived, as though it was nothing. Like it was trash.
She made it sound like their relationship was just some old receipt she crumpled and tossed into the nearest bin. Quick. Thoughtless. Final. Like letting go of him wasn't a loss—it was convenience.
But the truth was, Merlina was exhausted. Bone-deep, soul-heavy exhausted.
