Leon had been trying to keep his composure since the moment Rachel left him standing in the courtyard. Her words kept echoing in his mind — those sweet, manipulative reminders of "how perfect" they once were. But none of it felt right. None of it filled the quiet ache inside him. The truth was simple: no matter how much Rachel reminded him of the past, it wasn't her his heart longed for.
It was Mia.
Even trying to deny it felt useless now. Her scent, faint and familiar, still lingered in the air from earlier that morning. It pulled at something deep inside him — something primal and unyielding.
"You can't ignore it," Xavier's voice murmured inside his head, calm yet insistent.
"I've tried," Leon whispered back under his breath, walking aimlessly toward the academy gardens. "But she doesn't want me. She made that clear."
"She rejected us," Xavier said, his tone soft but weighted. "But that doesn't mean the bond is gone. You feel it, don't you?"
