A shiver ran through Ava as the memory of that day resurfaced, the sting of betrayal still fresh in her heart. She quickly forced herself to focus, her mind steeling against the flood of emotions threatening to consume her. *I won't let it happen again,* she thought fiercely. *I won't let him pull me under.*
Beside her, Cameron was still captivated by her presence. His mouth opened as if he wanted to speak, but the words seemed to get caught in his throat. The silence between them stretched on, thick with unspoken feelings, memories, and the growing distance that had formed between them. For a moment, it felt like time itself had stopped, as though they were the only two people left in the world, locked in this fragile, painful connection.
"Shall we start?" Ava's voice finally broke the stillness, her tone polite but distant. It was a firm reminder that they weren't what they once were, that things had changed.
