Page 230 of Only Be Mine

The statement felt like a warning.

“I never was,” I replied.

He stepped back and studied me again.

Searching.

Measuring.

Then he nodded once, satisfied.

“I have a few things to handle this afternoon,” he said. “I’ll work from home.”

Of course he would.

Control doesn’t leave the room once it’s regained.

“That’s fine,” I said.

He tilted his head slightly.

“You’re not upset?”

“I was emotional yesterday,” I answered carefully. “I don’t want to make things worse.”

His eyes softened.

There it was again, that flicker of relief.

He believed me.

Not fully.

But enough.

He picked up his laptop and walked toward his office.

The door didn’t close all the way.

He wanted to hear movement.

To track me.

I stayed at the island for a full minute after he disappeared.

Breathing.

Counting.

Inhale.

Exhale.

You are not trapped.

You are being observed.

Two entirely different things.