Content Warning: This chapter contains references to sexual assault, child loss, and emotional abuse. Please read with care.
***
"Can she bear to do what she did in your third life?"
Cassen's question hung in the air like a blade. The words didn't echo. They just sat there, heavy enough that breathing felt deliberate.
Alex didn't answer right away.
He just stared at Cassen, those dark, hollow eyes boring into him like he was trying to strip him down to the truth. His jaw was locked so tight a vein pulsed at his temple. Every muscle in his body said _don't break_, but his hands were shaking.
"Where were you?" Alex asked again, quieter this time. His eyes didn't blink. He watched Cassen's face like he could catch a lie in the flicker of an eyelid, in the twitch of a muscle. He wasn't asking for drama.
He needed answers, not questions.
