Orion's POV

I had never felt such restless pain, the kind that gnawed at my insides and twisted my stomach into knots.

For weeks, I'd been forced to stay away from Ava, watching from the shadows as her relationship with Mason grew tighter, inching me out of her life. The silence between us was deafening, more suffocating than anything I'd ever endured.

This was my punishment for not being there for her.

I couldn’t touch her, couldn’t feel the warmth of her presence next to me. Not because I didn’t want to, but because she asked me to stay away—and I had no choice but to comply.

The mansion now...