Chapter 1140
He rose quietly, brushing Sophie’s thigh as he stood. She stirred but didn’t stop him. Their eyes met for a heartbeat, she nodded once.
Jude crossed the clearing, bare feet silent in the grass. Scarlet didn’t look at him until he sat beside her.
"You’re thinking too loud," he said gently.
Her smile was small. Wrong. Not the smile, but close. Like it was trying to form and hadn’t fully taken hold.
"I’m trying not to."
He reached out, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Tell me."
She looked down at her knees. "I don’t know what’s real anymore."
"Yes, you do."
"No, Jude. I don’t." Her voice shook, just slightly. "She... Zoey. She touched my hand earlier. Just touched it. And I, " She inhaled sharply. "I felt something. Like warmth, but underneath it was this... whisper. Not in words. Just a feeling. And it told me I wasn’t mine anymore."
Jude’s hand closed over hers.
"You are yours," he said. "You’re not hers. Not Rose’s. Not Layla’s. Not Zoey’s."