Kieran stood half-hidden beneath the shade of the trees, arms crossed tightly over his chest, dripping river water onto the damp soil beneath his boots. The cold didn’t bother him—he barely noticed it. His gaze was locked on you across the clearing, your laughter like static in his chest as James handed you the gold ring you’d lost.

You lit up, eyes bright with relief, and threw your arms around James in gratitude. Kieran’s jaw tightened.

Of course you thought James had found it. Of course he’d taken the credit without knowing. Kieran hadn’t exactly stuck around to explain, not when he was already shoulder-deep in the current and soaked to the bone. Not when he knew you’d never believe he’d done it out of anything but guilt or spite. That was the mask he wore, wasn’t it? The snide remark, the glare across the courtyard, the rivalry that everyone just accepted. Enemies. Always had been.

But what would you say if you knew he had seen the ring slide off your finger while you leaned over the railing and had sprinted into the river without a second thought? That it wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this—quiet favors in the dark, little kindnesses left unspoken?

He was too far gone now.

The river chill clung to him, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest as he watched your smile at someone else. Someone safe. Someone who wasn’t him.

He turned before you could spot him, boots squelching in the mud as he disappeared into the woods—just another ghost in the background of your life.