END OF FLASHBACK:He Married her.

Later that evening, Lucian went after Aiden.

He knew exactly where to find him.

The graveyard.

Aiden always went there when he needed to be alone, when the weight of everything grew too heavy to carry.

It was the one place he could breathe, where the silence felt less suffocating, where he could talk to the only people who had never abandoned him... his parents.

Lucian found him sitting in front of their gravestones, knees drawn up, fingers digging into the damp earth as if grounding himself.

Lucian had begged him that night.

Begged him to listen. Begged him to understand.

"Aiden, please..." His voice had been raw, breaking under the weight of emotions he never let show. "I swear to you, I'll fix this. I'll break the bond... I'll find a way. Just give me time. If we really want to be together then let's fight for us together.