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Charles' POV
"I love you."
The words burned as they left my lips — like a confession offered on broken glass.
And before he could say anything… I hung up.
Silence.
The phone slipped from my hand and landed on the floor with a dull thud. I stared at it, empty, until the silence in my room started to scream. My chest hurt so bad it was almost funny — that kind of pain that feels too deep to be real.
How could I say that?
How could I just give in, again?
My heart loved him, but my head… my head hated him. Hated the way he could tear me apart with one sentence. Adopted rat.
He said it like I wasn't even real.
A sob ripped out before I could stop it. I pressed my hand against my mouth, but it kept coming — that ugly, shaking kind of crying that feels like drowning.
He begged for me once.
He begged his mother to adopt me. I remember his small hand gripping mine when we were kids, whispering, "You're my brother now, okay? Always."
Always.
