Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 288: Tears of the Past Nova's POV

"You don't mean that," I said, my voice trembling. "You've never seen me that way before. You've always seen me as just... as just "

"As just a friend?" he interrupted, his voice pained. "I know. I made you feel like you didn't matter, like you were nothing more than a second thought. And I'm so, so sorry for that, Nova. I should have seen it sooner.

Astrid showed me how foolish I've been, how I've been chasing something that was never meant for me, while ignoring the one person who has always been there, right beside me."

He took a step closer, reaching out to gently cup my face, his thumb brushing away a tear that had slipped free.

"You're the woman I should have been fighting for, Nova. The one I should have cherished all this time. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I need you to know that I see it now. I see you. And I'm so sorry for all the ways I've hurt you."

His words pierced through the pain I had carried for so long, stirring up a whirlwind of emotions inside me. This was the apology I had never expected to hear, the acknowledgment of all the hurt he had caused. "I left because I thought it was the only way I could survive the pain, Drystan," I confessed, my voice trembling as I spoke the words I had held inside for so long.

"I couldn't bear being around you while you were looking at her like that... while you were loving her in a way I thought you could never love me." I continued.

"I thought if I got away, if I put enough distance between us, I could finally forget everything I felt for you." Drystan's expression softened, and I saw the guilt flicker in his eyes, deepening with each word.

His grip on my hands tightened, but he didn't interrupt, allowing me to continue.

even when I was gone, I couldn't stop thinking about you," I whispered, my voice

maybe... maybe I could have done something differently, maybe if I had

couldn't keep hurting myself, pretending that I was okay while

face twisted with pain, and he looked away for a moment, his jaw clenched as if

voice thick with regret. "I wish I could go back and change everything." I shook my head, a small, sad smile tugging at my lips. "I didn't come back expecting you to change the past. I came back because I needed closure, because I thought if I faced you, if I told you

at me, searching my face as if he was afraid of what I might

he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Do you still want to move on

out a

Drystan. Everything thought I knew has changed. But... when you told me

me,

it made me realize that maybe, just maybe, we could have a different

expression softened, and for the first time, I saw a glimmer of

brushing against my cheek, wiping away another tear. "I can't promise that I'll get everything right, but I swear never take you for granted again, Nova. If you'll give me the chance, I'll spend every day proving that I see you - that

his eyes, cracked something inside

hand over his, letting myself lean into his touch, letting

whispered, my voice breaking as more tears

I want to believe that this time, things could

and before I could react, he pulled me