chapter fifty

Camila's POV

I let the silence stretch between us like a blade. The truth was, I didn't know why I told him. Maybe I just wanted to see if it would affect him. Maybe I wanted to hear something I couldn't say to myself.

"You're wondering if staying with me was the right decision," he said finally.

He always did know how to cut to the bone.

"I'm wondering," I said slowly, "if I ever had any right decisions to begin with."

He didn't flinch. Didn't try to defend himself or lie. And maybe that's why I didn't walk away.

"I ruined your life," he said. "I broke it down piece by piece because I was told to. Because I believed in something that wasn't real. The Council made me into a monster… and I let them."

I looked at him.

"That's not exactly comforting."

"No. But it's the truth."

He turned to me then, his voice quieter.