Thor ran his hand over his neck, nervously trying to relieve the tension. It was as if the tension was suffocating him, but it only increased. The memories came in waves: Celina's body moving away, her gaze fixed on his, the pain etched on her face, the way she looked when she saw him there in the room with the flight attendant. Her reaction... it hit him hard. It affected him more than he was willing to admit.

He stared at the mirror again, now with a hardened expression, forging the armor he knew so well. He concluded what he had been trying to repeat like a mantra.

"It was better this way..." he said, his gaze now darker, in a low voice, as if he needed to believe his own lie. "Now she won't have any feelings for me. She'll hate me." And that's what I want... that's what I need.

He closed his eyes, swallowing hard.

"I'll never get attached to another woman again. I'll never give anyone the power to destroy me again."

The phrase echoed in the silent bathroom like a promise. A prom