Damian's POV
She lied to me.
It wasn’t in the words, those had been clipped, casual, thrown like scraps to distract a dog. It was in her eyes, the twitch of her shoulders when I caught her wrist, the way her voice cracked on “nothing.” Something had happened. And I’d been a fool to let her walk upstairs without ripping the truth from her lips.
The hours that followed didn’t dull it. They sharpened it. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her, chin tipped high in defiance, mouth curved in that brittle laugh that cut sharper than any blade. I felt again the way she pulled her hand from mine like my touch burned, like she’d rather swallow glass than lean on me.
I’d seen fear before. Rage. Even desperation. But this wasn’t any of those. This was worse. This was her shutting me out.
I pou
