**The Unplaceable End by Austen**
**Chapter 25**
**Forgiveness?**
**Aurora’s POV**
I find myself fixated on the wall, my gaze locked in place. The stark, unyielding surface offers a refuge from the chaos of the room around me. It’s a sanctuary from the oppressive weight that feels as if it’s pressing down on my chest, squeezing the breath from my lungs. My limbs feel heavy and stiff, as though they’ve been encased in ice, and the chill that has seeped into my bones refuses to dissipate.
The sudden creak of the door interrupts the silence. I hear the soft shuffle of footsteps, tentative and uncertain, followed by a heavy stillness that blankets the room. He’s here.
I don’t dare to turn my head. I don’t blink. I barely manage to breathe.
“Aurora,” he utters, his voice cutting through the quiet like a knife.
Hearing my name from him feels foreign, almost tender—almost. But tenderness is a luxury I can’t afford anymore. It’s far too late for gentle words to mend the rift between us. Gentle doesn’t erase the hurt, the betrayal.
Silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating. I choose to remain silent.
He steps closer, and I can hear the soft rustle of his clothing, the faint sound of his shoes gliding over the carpet. The bed shifts slightly beneath his weight, a reminder of his presence that I can’t ignore.
“You shouldn’t have been outside,” he states, his words hanging in the air like a bitter aftertaste. They are foolish, utterly pointless.
Still, I remain mute. What could I possibly say? He doesn’t understand. None of them ever do.
“If I had known…”
His voice trails off, leaving behind a gaping void filled with unspoken regrets.
If. If. If. It’s always the “if.”
I can hear the tension in his fists as they clench, the leather of his jacket creaking under the pressure.
“I saw the security footage. What Luka said. You’re not a dog,” he mutters, his voice suddenly sharper, more urgent. “No one should have said that.”
A flicker stirs within me—tiny, almost imperceptible.


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