I found it difficult to wrap my head around what I had just heard, and I swallowed hard. The idea that Hawthorne might have been dying at the time he had wanted me gone was a heavy burden to bear. How could I have missed it if what he said was true? He had never shown any signs of weakness; he always appeared strong to me. Hawthorne let out a sigh and looked at me, while I stared back, not with pity, but with complete shock. "You were dying?" I asked, my tone making it clear that I wasn't readily accepting his explanation. Even if I considered the possibility that he was telling the truth, I couldn't forget how he had initially treated me, claiming me as his mate and then rejecting me. He had never seemed to care about my feelings despite being aware of them, so why should I care about his now? "Yes, Aurora, I was dying. I wanted to tell you how I truly felt. I love you, Aurora," he confessed, and time seemed to stand still. I couldn't tell if my hearing had failed me, as I struggl