MATILDA’S POV
The hum of the city was a distant buzz beneath the sharp stillness of his office. It was familiar, and yet, it was different this time—like déjà vu wearing a new face. I stood still, my eyes tracing the same floor-to-ceiling windows that I once thought were a luxury. Now, they felt like a cage—an invisible wall separating me from the ground below.
I leaned against the glass railing, letting the skyline blur until it felt like I could fall if I leaned just a bit too far. But I didn’t fall. I couldn’t. Not when my heartbeat was still pounding with the echo of Gideon’s stillness behind me.
When I turned, he was already sitting at his desk, his fingers steepled, gaze heavy. He wasn’t rushing me this time. He wasn’t hovering. He was just waiting for me to ask, or maybe—waiting
