Chapter 84

• "You can't keep doing this, Cole."
• I stared at Funmi, her words hanging heavy in the air, more suffocating than any silence that could have followed. Her eyes were searching mine, pleading, even though she already knew the answer. She had seen it all—the self-loathing, the guilt that I wore like a second skin. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake it. Every mistake, every betrayal, kept replaying in my mind like a broken record. And I couldn’t erase any of it.
• "I don't know how to stop," I admitted, my voice tight, raw. The truth tasted bitter on my tongue, but it was the only thing I could offer her. "I’ve hurt too many people. How can I fix any of it when I can't even fix myself?"