The air was thick with the unsaid words between them, each breath Natalie took carrying a weight too heavy for her fragile chest. A single tear slid down her cheek, betraying the storm inside her heart. She hadn’t expected this—hadn't expected him to look at her like that, with that depth of silent torment that mirrored her own. But there it was, a gaze that sliced through her resolve. Norwan’s eyes softened, just for a moment, before he swiftly masked it with cold indifference. It was a subtle movement, a swallow of shame, a flinch as his hands twisted behind his back to hide what he could not control—his emotions....