SADE

I stayed in the hospital for two days.

The first day, I slept.

The second day, I thought.

About the bakery. About the academy. About how I kept pushing like someone was chasing me with a clock, about how I never stopped to breathe.

I realized something that hurt to admit.

I wasn’t working hard just because I loved perfume.

I was working hard because I was afraid. Afraid that if I failed, Kross would regret believing in me.

That thought sat heavily in my chest.

On the second evening, I told him.

“I was trying to prove I deserved you,” I said quietly.

He froze.

“What?”

“The chance....