Page 301 of Scarbound

“So you understood why he was hospitalized.”

“Yes.”

“And still felt you had betrayed him.”

Noeul looked at her. “He was my twin.”

“That explains the feeling.”

Noeul’s brow furrowed.

“It doesn’t prove the feeling was accurate.”

He looked away again. “I told him I didn’t want him there either. That I just couldn’t take it anymore.” His voice tightened. “I wanted to explain everything.”

“What stopped you?”

Noeul laughed once. “What was I supposed to say?”

Dr. Kim waited.

“That I was scared of him?”

“Yes.”

“That I was exhausted?”

“Yes.”

“That I couldn’t sleep properly because I didn’t know what he would do?”

“Yes.”

Noeul stared at her. “That he had…” He stopped.

Dr. Kim said nothing.

Noeul’s fingers curled. “That he had crossed every boundary a brother could cross?”

Dr. Kim’s gaze remained steady. “Yes.”

Noeul looked away. “I couldn’t.”

“What did Gong say next?”

For several seconds, Noeul didn’t answer. Then his face changed. “He said I was his twin.” His voice became quieter. “The person he trusted and needed more than anyone.”

Noeul’s breathing slowed in the wrong way. Too controlled.

“And?”

Noeul stared at the floor. “He said…” His throat tightened. “‘You’re mine.’”

Dr. Kim remained still.

Noeul swallowed. “‘Your body is mine.’”

The room went quiet.