chapter 116

The night hung thick with the aroma of pine and expectation. Moonlight filtered across the deep woodland, throwing weird, changing shadows. Amelia's pulse raced as she followed Ethan through the old oaks.

"You can't just leave," Ethan's voice was a low, furious growl. "We need to talk, Amelia."

Amelia upped her speed, her footfall barely a whisper on the woodland floor. "There's nothing more to say, Ethan."

They approached a little clearing, bathed in the warm light of the moon. In its heart, the root of all their strife lay: a silver necklace, exquisitely engraved with a crescent moon. Amelia's pendant.

"You dropped this," Ethan remarked, holding it up. His eyes scanned hers, a tempest of emotions whirling inside them.

Amelia's fingertips touched her neck, the chain now noticeably gone. "I didn't lose it. I left it for you."

His face wrinkled, and he gently approached, extending the pendant toward her. "Why?"

She swallowed hard, her throat tightening with the weight of her secrets.