CHAPTER 78 THE MANTLE

Hana's world felt crumbling around her as she sat across from Luke, her emotions raw and tumultuous. Tears streamed down her cheeks, staining her cheeks with tracks of anguish and despair. Her heart felt heavy with the weight of betrayal, and she struggled to make sense of the chaos that had consumed her life. "How could you?" she whispered, her voice barely more than a broken sob. "How could you lie to me like this?" Luke's expression was pained, his eyes filled with remorse and regret. He reached out to her, his hand trembling with the effort to bridge the chasm that had opened up between them, but she recoiled from his touch as if his fingers were made of fire. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I never meant to hurt you." Hana's chest tightened with anger as she looked into Luke's eyes, searching for any trace of sincerity in his words. But all she saw was the same mask of deceit that he had worn for so long, the same facade of strength and resolve