Vera did not expect Charlie to immediately worry about her after learning how much time had passed.

Despite feeling grateful, she feigned nonchalance and replied, "Thank you for worrying about me, but I've been fine. After living for centuries, I'm honestly used to being alone."

"That's not true," Charlie said bluntly, exposing her right then. "If you really were, you wouldn't have adopted so many orphans or kept Decan Raven by your side."

Those words felt like a surprise gut-punch for Vera,