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I felt that one.

She pushed her chair back. The scrape against the floor seemed deafening.

“Where are you going?”

She stood. “To my room.”

Every instinct in me screamed to follow. To stop her. To make her look at me until whatever had changed between us changed back. But I did none of those things.

“Ghost.”

He appeared in the doorway almost immediately.

Nyssa’s expression hardened.

Fuck.

Wrong move.

I knew it the second I saw her face.

“I’m going to my bedroom, Alaric. I think I can manage the hallway.”

“That’s not why he’s there.”

She walked past him.

Ghost looked at me.

I gave a nod.

Follow her.

He disappeared. I remained at the table. Her half-empty plate across from me. The bread I’d buttered untouched beside it. I stared at it. Such a fucking small thing. Yesterday… she would’ve eaten it. Tonight… she wouldn’t even take that from me.

I tried to keep myself busy, carting the plates into the kitchen and cleaning everything away. Mrs. Reid was gone. Knox had escorted her home. I had a man sitting on their house. She wasn’t the target.

Yet.

I didn’t trust this bastard not to find another way into my world.

Water rushed over my hands.

Plate.

Glass.

Knife.

I washed things that were already clean. Wiped down a counter Mrs. Reid had already wiped ten minutes earlier. Anything to stop myself looking toward the hallway. Anything to stop myself going after Nyssa.

Take care of everything except the thing I’m asking you for.

My hand stopped.

Water continued running over my fingers.

Fuck.