Chapter 57

Ivy

"Aidan," I whispered as he took my hand and slowly led me out of the club.

But he didn't respond or even look at me. His eyes were clouded with a daze, lost in some internal struggle.

I called out his name again, hoping to catch his attention, but he seemed detached from the present moment. "Aidan," I whispered urgently, trying to break through his trance.

Finally, he turned to me with a vacant stare and asked, "What?" His once lively eyes were now dull and unresponsive.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

A silly question to ask someone who was covered in bruises and blood, but what else was I supposed to do?

"I am fine," he said gruffly.

But I knew he wasn't fine. I could tell that much. I mean, who could blame him? He had just lost his sister to his enemy. He was probably in the process of accepting that he essentially failed his little sister, the one person he was put on this earth to protect.