The fear of disappointing everyone.
Serena listened without judgment while we wandered slowly through the crowded fairgrounds beneath glowing lights.
“You should read Hefner’s Theory of Witches,” she suggested thoughtfully. “Professor Asher assigns it for historical magical development courses. There’s a whole section on Earth-born Witches struggling with affinity suppression.”
My heart skipped.
“Really?”
She nodded eagerly.
Hope fluttered painfully inside my chest.
Because maybe I wasn’t broken.
Maybe I’d simply never been understood properly.
But then reality crashed back in hard.
“I might not even still be here next semester,” I admitted quietly.
Serena frowned.
I explained about my mother.
About Gunner.
About the ultimatum.
About losing tuition support entirely.
The words felt ugly aloud.
Small.
Humiliating.
But strangely—not as devastating as they should have.
Because beneath the fear sat something new.
Freedom.
For the first time in my life, I had chosen myself over my family’s expectations.
And despite everything?
I didn’t regret it.
“You know what?” I said slowly. “It’s actually not that bad. I mean, I can just get a job or something.”
Serena blinked.
“I’ll be okay,” I realized aloud.
And gods—for once, I believed it.
“You will always be okay, Luna.”
