MATILDA'S POV
I should have walked out.
That thought sat in my chest, heavy and loud, like it was trying to claw its way up my throat.
I should have walked out.
But I didn’t.
Because standing in front of Gideon Vale, with his calm voice and colder eyes, I knew one thing with a clarity that made me sick, If I walked out that door, my mother and I were done for.
No house, No miracle waiting around the corner.
Just… nothing.
The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t blinked. He just watched me like he already knew what I was going to do.
And that pissed me off more than anything.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides.
God, I hated him.
I hated the way he spoke like everything was already decided.
I hated the way he looked at me like I wa
