Chapter 4

When I woke up, Julian was standing by the window.

His face was smeared with soot and ash, clearly hadn't washed up yet, and his wrists were still bandaged from burns.

Those burns were from when he risked his life to pull me out.

Julian stood half-turned, his eyes so red that it looked like he could bleed tears, his voice thick with grief, barely holding back a sob.

Julian muttered, "Why didn't I protect her?

"She was only sixteen."

Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

I wanted to tell him that I did.

But in the end,…