chapter 124

Angela POV

As I left Lyra’s room, the air felt thick with tension, yet all I could focus on was the burn of her words. “Love? Fairytales?” Lyra had always been naive, but tonight, she’d taken it to a new level. Still, as her last words echoed in my mind, they stung in a way I didn’t care to admit. “Did she think I’d never know happiness?” I shook my head, my heels clicking angrily on the tiled floor. “How could she understand anything about my choices?”

I took a sharp turn down the hallway, trying to shake off the strange hollowness her words had left in me. I was used to envy, to competition, to people looking out for themselves. That’s how the world worked. But love? The way she spoke of it, like some precious gem she could just hold in her hand, was infuriating.

Just as I stepped outside to the veranda, hoping the cool night air would calm my nerves, I caught a group of people huddled by the grand fountain. Their voices were low, but I caught a name that made me stop in my tracks.