11: BURNED BY HIS OWN FIRE

As

Kaliyah turned around, she found Terry gazing at the door to the north, the

only direction without an east or west door, leading to the right and left

parts of the palace.

Given

Terry’s fixed stare, she assumed the woman named Samantha had gone through that

door. She seemed to disappear so swiftly that Kaliyah couldn’t catch sight of

her.

As she

observed Terry, she detected both admiration and a hint of sadness in his eyes.

She questioned him, “You’re pitying her...”

Terry

shifted his attention to her and responded, “No, I’m pitying myself.”

“But

why?” Kaliyah inquired.

Sighing,

Terry stared at the rose before him, a symbol of forbidden love. “Because she’s

someone I cannot have.”

Kaliyah

didn’t reply verbally, as she could empathize with his situation. She, too, was

entangled with someone who didn’t want her. Unconsciously, she gazed at Terry,

lost in her thoughts.

“You

don’t need to pity or worry about me, Lady Acalia. Worry about yourself

instead. We each have our burdens to bea