CHAPTER 86 Stay, Avery

　　Dylan's POV

　　Avery's rejection felt like a physical blow, a punch to the gut that stole the air from my lungs. I had braced myself for anger, for resentment, even for hatred. But the sheer coldness in her voice, the utter distance in her gaze, it was a different kind of pain, a deeper wound that cut straight to the bone.

　　It was as if she had erected an invisible wall between us, a barrier I couldn't see but could feel, a palpable chill that radiated from her like a winter storm.

　　She thought I had poisoned her. The accusation, so casually thrown, so readily believed, twisted in my gut like a serrated knife. I wanted to shout, to protest, to vehemently deny such a monstrous thought.

　　I wanted to grab her, to shake her, to make her see the truth. But she was looking at me with such undisguised suspicion, such utter distrust, that the words died in my throat. She saw me as the enemy, the perpetrator, the one who had violated her trust and endangered her life.