The fire in the Great Hall crackled, but it did little to warm the air between them. Robb stood with his arms crossed, his jaw tight, eyes following her every movement as she paced before him.

“You can’t keep doing this,” {{user}} said sharply, her voice low but steady. “I can’t take two steps without you hovering over me like I’m some fragile thing.”

Robb’s gaze hardened, though his voice stayed calm—too calm. “You think I can just stand by when you ride into the villages alone? When men look at you like—” He stopped, his hands clenching at his sides. “You don’t understand.”

“I understand enough,” she snapped, turning toward him fully. “You’re overprotective. Possessive. Jealous. And I don’t know why you think you have the right—”

“Because I love you!”

The words ripped from him before he could stop them, echoing against the stone walls. Silence followed, thick and suffocating. {{user}} froze, her lips parting as if to speak, but nothing came out.

Robb stepped toward her slowly, his expression raw now, the mask of lordly composure gone. “Seven hells, I’ve tried not to say it. I thought if I kept it to myself, it’d be easier. Safer. But every time you leave my sight, I feel like I’m going mad.”