KAIA'S POV
I had no idea how long we’d been standing here, both too stubborn to give in to the other. Leander was breathing harder now, his chest rising and falling like he’d just sprinted a mile. I stood with my back against the door.
He walked over to me, his hand gripping the doorframe, but his knuckles were white—like he was holding himself in place by sheer will alone. His eyes were fixed on me, and there was something in them—something wild—that made my skin prickle.
“Okay… okay,” he said finally, his voice rough and uneven, the words almost dragged out of him. “You win, Kaia. I’ll tell you everything—everything you want to know, every answer you want—” His gaze flicked to mine, sharp and urgent, like he needed me to believe him. “But not here. Okay? Not now.”
I didn’t move. “Why
