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A long pause followed before he asked, “Do you respect me?”

“Of course,” she replied

Even if she sounded weak and almost pathetic, she didn’t care In the seconds after Aidan’s rope dropped, a realization sht train His rejection had crushed the strong parts of her, and with that powerful part gone, it brought a o that she had felt exactly the same way

As if the walls of protection she’d built around herself vanished when he tugged away the rope It res for Aidan One action had drawn her back to that period in her life, as if no time had passed at all

She couldn’t ignore herself anymore

This broke her heart

Porter’s lips thinned “If you lie to me, you will insult me”

“I know that,” she replied

The techno , and Cora didn’t doubt that Master Dmitri was responsible She appreciated it, too, as it helped to comfort her In her peripheral vision, she saw Master Kyler shoo away Kenzie While it relieved Cora, she also thought it sweet of Kenzie to check in on her By now everyone in the dungeon are of her scene, or lack thereof That was hu in itself

Porter dropped his hand froht, now that we have that established, tellon” Concern creased the corners of his eyes,Porter look so much older than Cora reht Why are you not telling Aidan the truth?”

Staring into Porter’s solid features, Cora couldn’t find the strength to hide her feelings any longer, nor could she lie to herself Tonight she had officially dropped She’d become a weak person she never wanted to be “It’s difficult”

“Yes, clearly,” Porter agreed sternly “Why?”

Cora hesitated, dragging in her runaway thoughts She couldn’t avoid this any longer, and in her job, she’d call this rock botto she’d pushed away long ago any easier, no matter how much she tried to numb herself to it “I don’t kno to talk about this”

“That excuse will no longer work You broke tonight You need to explain why” Porter tucked the blankets around her a little tighter before he lifted his gaze “Did Master Aidan hurt the trust between you?”

Alarestion, she snapped, “No!”