Page 53 of The Art of Ruin

“I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“No,” I say quietly. “You just knew exactly how not to.”

“Casey—”

“I have to go.”

“Please don’t do this.”

My throat tightens unexpectedly. “Don’t do what?”

“Shut me out.”

The audacity of that almost makes me laugh again. “You lost access to me when you lied to my face every day for months. It’s over. Don’t contact me again.”

I hang up before he can answer.

For a second, I stand there staring blindly at the blurred titles in front of me while my heart pounds far too hard for a conversation I never wanted to have in the first place.

Then I switch the phone off completely.

Not silent.

Off.

The quiet afterward feels immediate, as does the weight lifting from my shoulders.

When I turn, Adriano is standing at the end of the aisle with Letty balanced against his hip, one small arm wrapped around his shoulders while she flips lazily through a picture book. But his eyes are on me.

He doesn’t ask what happened.

Doesn’t ask who it was.

But something in his expression has changed slightly, the careful neutrality edged now with awareness.

“That was…”

“You don’t have to explain,” he says quietly.

Relief hits me so suddenly it almost hurts.

Which is ridiculous.

He’s my employer.

Not my friend.

Certainly not the kind of man I should feel safe around.

And yet. “Thank you,” I say softly.

Letty holds up her book between us. “This dragon has two heads.”

Adriano’s gaze stays on me for one second longer before shifting down to her. “That seems excessive.”

“I think it’s efficient,” I murmur.

His mouth almost curves again.