Another man

Rockan

I told her I loved her.

There was no taking my words back, and it wasn’t that I regretted telling her. I told her the truth, but still, something felt off.

My chest ached with an unfamiliar heaviness that lingered throughout the night, pressing down on me like an unyielding weight.

Maybe it was the fear that gnawed at me, the realisation that Denera might choose her newfound family over me.

She had spent so long yearning for a connection, for blood relatives who would treat her with the love and respect she deserved. I could feel that desire radiating from her, a longing that I couldn’t compete with.

What if I forced her to follow me back home? The thought sent a chill down my spine. I could envision her resentment, the way her eyes might harden with disappointment.

“I don’t want that,” I muttered to myself, digging my fingers into my hair, and tugging at the roots in frustration.

I stood up from the bed, the rising sun casting a soft glow in the room, illuminating the shado