The room felt smaller the longer we stayed in it.
Not physically.
Just… everything else.
The walls felt closer, the air heavier, like even breathing required more effort than it should.
No windows. No natural light.
Just artificial brightness that made it impossible to tell how much time had passed.
Max hadn’t left.
That was the first thing that felt different.
He stayed in the same space, moving occasionally to speak to security, checking his phone, giving short instructions, but never going far. Never out of reach.
Like he wasn’t willing to risk distance anymore.
I sat on the edge of the chair, my hands resting loosely in my lap, watching him without trying to make it obvious.
“You’re waiting,” I said after a while.
He didn’t look at me immediately.
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“For
