With my own eyes, I saw Axel professing his love for Rosa. I saw him.
The words echoed in my head, over and over again, as if my mind refused to process them properly. The scene replayed in flashes; Axel's voice that was tender and full of warmth. The way his hands brushed against Rosa's skin, the way he looked at her, the way he…
I sucked in a shaky breath, pressing a hand to my stomach.
I had been so sure.
So, so sure.
I had defended him. I had sworn up and down that Axel would never hurt me. That he was different. That he cared.
And yet.
I closed my eyes, but the memory was still there, burned into the back of my eyelids like.
Had Mateo been right all along?
No. No. I couldn't…
I shot to my feet, barely noticing the way my legs trembled beneath me. My skin still felt too tight, like it didn't belong to me anymore. My body still hummed with the jiggle of something awful, something I couldn't name, something I couldn't let myself name.
But none of that mattered now.
