Lara's POV
My heart hammered against my ribs as I waited for Austin to speak. The terror that he might finally reject me, that he'd grown tired of my deception and walls, consumed every rational thought in my mind.
After Faith's brutal honesty earlier, her words echoed relentlessly in my head. She was right about everything. I hadn't been truthful with the people who claimed to care about me because deep down, I couldn't bring myself to believe they would actually stay when things got dangerous. Solitude had been my companion for so long that trusting others felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting to fall.
When Austin's strong arms wrapped around me, I nearly shattered completely. His embrace felt like coming home to a place I'd never known existed. The warmth of his body against mine, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, the familiar scent that was purely him – it all threatened to break down every defensive wall I'd spent building over the years.
