ISLA~
I stared at her. There was only one way she could possibly know that name.
My eyes watered, the vision of her blurring into soft, painful edges. I looked down at my hands, holding onto them tightly just to draw a thread of strength.
"You spoke to my grandfather, didn't you?" I asked, forcing myself to sit up against the pillows.
"Isla..."
"Call me Audrey, Elara."
She swallowed hard, taking a deep, ragged breath. "He couldn't have been telling the truth." Her voice shook, barely audible above the quiet hum of the room. "Tell me it's a lie."
I met her eyes, tears spilling over my lashes.
The low, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor beside me seemed to fade into complete silence. The terrifying realization crashing down in her eyes was numbing me from the inside out.
I had been trying to justify myself for months, for years. I looked at her, knowing she was desperately searching for a single shred of doubt to hold onto, but...
