C72 THE SURPRISE.

AVERY'S POV:

I lay on my bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all. My throat still ached from Axel’s grip, the phantom sensation lingering like a cruel reminder. But the pain wasn’t just physical. It was in the way he’d looked at me—as if I had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.

I had taken this too far