Evaline:
He... what?
I wasn't expecting a confession from him.
In fact, it might have been the last thing I could have ever imagined hearing from the River Thorne. And yet… here we were.
For a heartbeat, I just stared at him. The silence in the room suddenly started feeling too loud, while my own heartbeat was drumming against my ribs. My lips parted but no words came out.
Once the initial shock loosened enough for me to breathe, I shook my head in small, sharp movements, as if the physical act could somehow erase what he had just said. The look I gave him must have made my feelings plain - I didn't trust him. Not with this. Not with me.
But before I could speak, his voice cut in again.
"When I first saw you," he began, his tone low and steady, "I hated you."
The bluntness of the words made my chest tighten.
