A few more days passed in a blur, the hours bleeding together until she couldn't tell one from the next. She moved through the motions of her duties, her mind on autopilot, her heart a leaden weight in her chest. She spoke to nobles, signed documents, listened to reports, but it all felt distant, unreal, as if she were watching someone else live her life.
And still, she hadn't made a decision.
Vaughn's words haunted her, a constant whisper in the back of her mind. Three days. It had been four now. Or was it five? She'd lost track, lost in the fog of her own indecision.
She knew she was running out of time. Knew that soon, very soon, she would have to face the truth, face the consequences of her inaction. But the thought of it terrified her, paralyzed her. How could she choose? How could she live with herself, no matter what she decided?
