Chapter Eighty-Three

As soon as the words had left my mouth though, I slowly started to take in what I was actually seeing before me.

Because it was Cai, but… true to the excuse he’d provided, he really didn’t seem well.

I could recall how he’d appeared worn out the last time we'd met, however this was on an entirely different level.

He looked pale with dark circles under his eyes, perhaps having even lost some weight. The difference in his appearance was almost like an entirely different person from the man I’d first met all those years ago.

“Aria,” he greeted, his voice having a rasp to it that hadn’t been there before.

And, inside, a pang of guilt hit me.

It seemed I really had dragged him out of his sickbed.

“Take a seat,” I said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of my desk, and he complied. “I appreciate you coming here to meet with me.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice,” he replied.

I simply nodded in turn. “Well,