David
I sat in the quiet of my study, the weight of the day pressing down on me. The mahogany desk before me was cluttered with reports and files I hadn’t touched all morning. The clock ticked steadily on the wall: 2:00 p.m. The hours had slipped by unnoticed as I wrestled with the thoughts that consumed me—thoughts of Laura.
I took a slow breath, leaning back in the chair, trying to compose myself. She was here, just a few rooms away, but it didn’t feel like enough. For days, I’d been coming home early, keeping her close, unwilling to leave her alone for too long. Not because I didn’t trust her—I didn’t, not yet—but because I couldn’t bear the idea of her drifting further from me.
Her words from the other night echoed in my mind. She had agreed to help me expose Ryan, yet she hadn’t sa
