The fire crackled in the hearth, casting long shadows across the cabin walls. The air was thick with smoke and silence, the kind of silence that pressed against your ears until you wanted to scream just to shatter it.
Daniel sat in his chair, glass of whiskey in hand, eyes trained on me. He hadn’t spoken in nearly ten minutes, and yet the weight of his gaze was louder than any accusation.
Adrian shifted beside me on the couch, his body coiled tight, ready to spring. His hand brushed against mine, a subtle tether keeping me from unraveling.
Finally, Daniel spoke.
“You think I don’t see it?” His voice was calm, but beneath it ran a current sharp enough to cut. “The glances. The whispers when you think I’m not listening. The touches.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, my pulse hammering in my th
