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CHAPTER 171
~Valerie's POV~
"She's not a prize, Kai. Let Valerie breathe, please. Just be there."
I clenched my fists, fingers curling tighter than I meant to. Kaiser was right, but how was I to hold on… How was I to pretend like my heart, body and soul did not want her so much right now?
The ground beneath my boots felt less steady with each passing second.
"I'll text her later," I muttered.
"Better to say it in person."
"I don't know if she wants that."
"She does."
"I hurt her too, remember?"
"You didn't mean to."
Neither did Axel.
That thought came out of nowhere and just like that, he appeared.
The footsteps behind me, the soft crunch of gravel, followed by a hand resting on my shoulder.
"Easy," Axel said.
I didn't turn or flinch. We stood there in silence for a full minute, both of us staring at the scene below like it was a battlefield we'd already lost.
"I didn't mean to do it," Axel said quietly.