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“He didn’t like it.”

That’s all I offer, but Adrien waits. I can feel him listening not just to my words but to the silence between them—collecting each missing piece like something precious he needs to protect.

“He said…” My voice thins to a thread. I clear it, trying again. “He said boys weren’t supposed to do that.”

I feel the subtle shift in Adrien’s body—the way his jaw tightens against my temple, the brief pause in his breathing.

I continue, “He made me take it off.”

“With remover?” Adrien asks.

I shake my head.

The silence that follows is cold and heavy. Adrien doesn’t ask what he used instead.

I don’t want to tell him.

I don’t want to see his face if I do.

“He got mad,” I whisper. “That’s all.”

“That’s not all.”

“No.”

“Kammie.”

“I don’t want to talk about the rest.”

Adrien looks at me for a long moment, then says, “Okay.”

No pushing. No bargaining. The relief is so sudden it feels like a physical unclenching in my stomach.

His hand comes up, cupping gently beneath my chin. “I’m going to ask you one other thing.”

I know what’s coming before he says it. My shoulders tighten instinctively.

Adrien notices but doesn’t pull back. “Steven, what?”

I stare at him, frozen.

“Tell me his last name, Kamden.”

My mouth goes dry as dust. “I don’t remember.”

Adrien looks at me sadly. “Sweetheart…”

“I don’t.”

The lie sits heavily between us.

Adrien sighs. “Alright.”

I blink. “That’s it?”

“For now.”

My heart bumps strangely. “You know I’m lying.”