Right now, every image shing through his mind was gruesome-bloody, brutal, impossible to bear. He couldn''t even let himself imagine it: if he lost Chasel, what would his world look like?


    Probably like the sky caving in, everything copsing in on itself, shattered into a wastnd of despair.


    Cassius sprinted into the house, gasping for breath.


    Inside, everything was cold, dark, and silent as a grave.


    Suddenly, all those buried memories surged up from every corner, drowning him like a flood.


    Clutching the front of his shirt, Cassius tried to steady his heaving chest, but the ache inside felt like a pack of wolves tearing him apart.


    Since Aubrey died, he hadn''t set foot in this ce. Not once.


    The person he loved most had died loving him.


    That kind of pain—like a knife twisting in your heart-was something nobody could ever understand unless they''d lived through it.


    But this wasn''t the time for grief.


    “Chasel!” Cassius yelled, hoarse, calling again and again as he tore through room after room.


    Finally, he pounded up the stairs. The home theater''s light was on. His heart leapt into his throat, and he rushed in.


    "Chasel!"


    The room was empty except for Chasel, sitting on the big leather sofa, his eyes ssy and distant. At his feet, white rosesy scattered, petals torn and wilted.


    On the screen, videos of Cassius and Aubrey yed on a loop—intimate moments, silent now.


    Chasel stared at them, a twisted, colorless smile creeping onto his lips.


    Mocking himself.


    "Chasel... Don''t. Don''t watch it!" Cassius threw himself between Chasel and the screen, blocking his view with his own body. n was trying to get at me, don''t let him mess with your head! Don''t believe a word he says!"


    "Maybe ny-nine things were lies," Chasel''s voice was ragged, eyes swollen and red, "but one of them was true."


    He looked up, taking in Cassius''s sweat-soaked, desperate face, his own smile shattering. "Your soulmate was him. Not me."


    Cassius''s heart clenched so hard he could barely breathe. "That''s not—”


    "It is," Chasel said, voice thin and tired, like someone who''s been wandering through a blizzard for miles and miles. "Your heart''s been empty for a long time. You left it with him."


    "He was the love of your life. The one you''d do anything for, even die for.


    And me? I''m just... what? A painkiller. A substitute to numb the ache. Something that looks right on the outside.


    All those nights you kissed me, held me—your mind was with him. You must''ve felt so lucky to find someone who looked so much like him, and who just happened to love you just as much.


    But you know what? Once you''ve tasted real love, nothing else evenes close. You can''t fool your own heart, Cassius. The truth always shows."


    Cassius''s eyes filled with tears. He shook his head, pain threatening to tear him apart.


    “I''m not a stand-in, Cassius,” Chasel said tly. “If I''m just someone''s shadow, I''d rather be gone.”


    Before Cassius could react, Chasel


    reached behind him and grabbed a white rose its stem whittled to a


    sharp point like a knife. His eyes


    were old as he dragged it across his cheek, leaving a long, angry gash.


    “Look at me, Cassius,” heughed hollowly, blood trickling down his face. “Do I still look like him now?"


    “No! Chasel, stop!” Cassius cried, lunging forward just as Chasel dragged the thorny stem across his face again.


    The blood-red crosses on his pale skin were like cracks in fine porcin-violent, heartbreaking, raw.


    Tears mingled with blood as Chasel smiled through the pain. “Tell me, Cassius..... do I still look like him? Is this what you want?"


    "Please, don''t. Chasel, I''m begging you!" Cassius dropped to his knees in front of him, gripping Chasel''s wrists tightly. The man who once seemed invincible was now stripped of af dignity, sobbing and pleading. "Don''t hurt yourself. me me, hate me-hell, beat me, kill me if you want! But don''t do this, don''t use yourself to punish me..."


    He loved Chasel to his core, and nothing-nothing-hurt more than seeing him in pain.


    Chasel let out a brokenugh, blood and tears streaking his cheeks. "You''re not hurting for me, Cassius. You''re just using me. Trying to save yourself, patch up the hole your real love left behind.


    But you got your rescue. Who''s going to rescue me?"


    He closed his eyes, the white rose falling from his fingers. “Cassius... let''s end this. We''re done.”