"Leave me, Ivan." The words scraped out of my throat, raw and broken, each syllable a struggle as the weight of everything crashed down on me. I couldn't breathe. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. Not like this. His voice pierced through the chaos like a lifeline. "Tell me, my love... how can I leave my heart behind?" My eyes fluttered shut, and for a moment, I let the sound of him-just him-wrap around me like the only truth I had left. "You'll hate me," I whispered, the guilt carving holes in my chest. He stepped closer, voice low and trembling with something fierce. "I'd rather hate you and have you, Iris... than love you and lose you."
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