Page 177 of Only Be Mine

Seth leaned back in his chair, eyes flicking briefly to the window before returning to me. “Do you feel safe?”

“Yes,” I said immediately and without hesitation.

He searched my face, like he was looking for something, some inkling that I wasn’t being honest. I didn’t look away.

After a moment, he nodded. “Okay.”

No argument. No warning. No I told you so waiting in the wings.

Just respect for my wishes.

The drive back was quiet. Not tense exactly, just weighted. The kind of silence that carried too much history to be filled easily. Seth didn’t press me, and I didn’t offer.

When we pulled into the driveway, the house looked the same as it always did - immaculate, composed, lights on like it had been expecting us.

Trevor’s car was still there.

Seth cut the engine and turned to me. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

I nodded. “Thank you. For not trying to decide for me.”

A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “That’s never been my job.”

I opened the door and stepped out into the warm summer air.

Trevor met me before I reached the front steps.

“Cate.” My name left him like an exhale. Relief, plain and unguarded, crossed his face when he saw me standing there on my own. “Thank God.”

He stopped short of touching me, hands hovering like he was waiting for permission.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said immediately. No preamble. No justification. “I crossed a line.”

I stilled.

“I was wrong to speak for you,” he continued, voice low. “Wrong to push. Wrong to assume I knew what you needed better than you did.”

Seth paused a few steps back, giving us space without leaving.

“I’m not trying to control you,” Trevor said. “I was scared. And that’s not an excuse, it’s just the truth.”

I studied his face, looking for tells, cracks, any sign that he was being insincere. I found nothing but love and loyalty.

“I love you,” he added quietly. “And I panicked.”

Something in my chest loosened.

“I need you to hear me,” I said. “I can’t be managed. I can’t be handled like something fragile you’re afraid might break.”

Trevor nodded immediately. “I know. And you’re right.”

“I can handle this,” I continued. “John. The investigation. All of it. I need to do that myself.”

“You can,” he said without hesitation. “And I’ll follow your lead.”

Follow.

The word mattered.