Rivana coughed on her drink, completely taken aback by his confession. She quickly set the glass down, her eyes locked onto him. For a moment, it felt as though she were staring at someone she didn't know—a completely different version of Azrael she had never imagined existed.
"Why?" Rivana asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and dread.
Azrael sighed softly, his broad shoulders sinking slightly as his expression darkened. He didn't respond immediately, instead staring deeply at the amber liquid swirling in his glass. The silence stretched on, and with each passing second, Rivana's heart pounded louder. It felt as though she were about to glimpse a shadowy fragment of his life, one that he had meticulously kept hidden beneath his polished exterior.
