Prologue

I always thought it was unfair. That it was too good to be true. I mean, you were like a

hero straight out of a fairy tale. Your dazzling crimson radiance was just too

breathtaking. And you always appeared so solid and reliable.

No matter how hard I tried, you always found out my vulnerabilities, and you always

knew how to reassure me. Your presence was like a gentle spring breeze. Like a tree

providing shade from a hot summer day. Like the biting chill of a crisp winter morning.

Like the wistfulness of a bright autumn dusk.

To me you were both bitter and sweet, a complicated enigma that words alone couldn't

capture. All of the insecurities I'd hidden away beneath the armor of my practiced

smile you exposed without a care in the world. You aggravated me to no end. I hated

that side of you. So please… I'm begging you. Don't—protect me anymore.