Chapter 6:The Line That Divides Us
1506 Words
The room tilted.
Not dramatically. Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But enough.
Enough for Selene to feel the ground slip beneath her feet as Damian’s words settled into something far more dangerous than suspicion.
Understanding.
“Why are you protecting your stomach like it matters more than anything else?”
Her heart stopped.
Not slowed.
Not stuttered.
Stopped.
For one suspended second, everything inside her went completely still.
Then it crashed back all at once.
Fast. Violent. Uncontrollable.
Think.
Say something.
Anything.
“It doesn’t,” she said.
The lie came out too quickly.
Too thin.
Too fragile to hold under the weight of his gaze.
Damian didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t even look surprised.
Which was worse.
Because it meant he expected that answer.
“You’re not even trying anymore,” he said quietly.
Her chest tightened.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
Straight through her defenses.
Straight into the one place she couldn’t protect.
Selene forced a breath in, slow and steady, willing her pulse to calm.
“You’re creating a problem that doesn’t exist,” she said. “I’m tired, I’ve had a long night, and I don’t appreciate being analyzed like I’m some kind of case study.”
A beat.
“Then stop giving me reasons to.”
Her stomach twisted.
“You’re reading into body language,” she pressed. “That’s not proof of anything.”
“No,” he agreed.
Her breath caught.
For a moment, she thought
Maybe that worked.
Maybe he would let it go.
“But patterns are.”
Everything inside her went cold.
He stepped closer.
Not rushed.
Not aggressive.
Certain.
“You avoid physical contact,” he continued. “You shift your body away when I get too close. You guard your midsection without thinking.”
Selene’s pulse roared in her ears.
“You flinch when I move my hand,” he added.
Her throat went dry.
“You’re overthinking.”
“I don’t overthink,” he said. “I observe.”
The same word.
The same tone.
Her stomach dropped.
The stranger.
Damian’s eyes sharpened slightly, catching the flicker in her expression.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing.”
Her chest tightened.
“You’re not the only one who watches people,” she said quickly. “Maybe I’m just reacting to being cornered.”
“Then don’t feel cornered.”
His voice softened.
Just slightly.
Enough to make it worse.
“I’m not trying to trap you, Selene.”
That almost broke her.
Because part of her wanted to believe it.
Wanted to trust it.
Wanted to step forward instead of back.
But she couldn’t.
Not with this.
Not with him.
“Then let me go,” she said quietly.
A pause.
A long one.
He released her.
Completely.
The absence of his touch felt immediate.
Jarring.
Like something had been pulled away too quickly.
Selene didn’t wait.
She stepped back.
Once.
Twice.
Putting distance between them before she could change her mind.
Before her body betrayed her again.
Damian didn’t follow this time.
He watched.
That was worse.
Much worse.
Because it meant he was thinking.
Replaying.
Connecting.
“You’re hiding something,” he said again.
Not a question.
A statement.
Selene exhaled slowly.
“I think you want me to be hiding something.”
“Because you are.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
Her chest tightened.
“You’re guessing.”
“I’m concluding.”
The calm certainty in his voice sent a chill through her.
“You don’t have enough information to conclude anything,” she said.
His gaze held hers.
Unyielding.
“I have enough to know something changed after you left.”
Her heart stumbled.
“You’re holding onto the past,” she said.
“I’m trying to understand the present.”
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Fragile.
Dangerous.
“Then stop,” she said softly. “Because whatever you think you’re going to find… it’s not something you want.”
That got his attention.
Fully.
Completely.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Try me.”
Her pulse spiked.
No.
You don’t mean that.
You don’t understand what you’re asking for.
“You’re not prepared for it,” she said.
His expression didn’t change.
“Let me decide that.”
Selene shook her head.
“You don’t get to.”
“And you do?”
“Yes.”
The word came out stronger than she expected.
More certain.
Because this,
This was the one thing she still had control over.
Her.
The truth.
The child.
Damian studied her for a long moment.
“You’re protecting something,” he said.
Her breath caught.
Too close.
Too accurate.
Too dangerous.
“I’m protecting myself.”
“That’s not what this is.”
His voice dropped lower.
“Whatever it is… it matters to you more than I do.”
The words hit harder than anything else.
Because they were true.
And because they weren’t.
Her chest tightened painfully.
“You don’t get to compare yourself to something you don’t even understand,” she said.
His jaw flexed.
“Then make me understand.”
“I can’t.”
“Won’t.”
A beat.
“Yes.”
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Silence fell instantly.
Sharp.
Heavy.
Irreversible.
Damian didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
But something in his expression shifted.
Subtle.
Dangerous.
He heard that.
Felt it.
Understood more than she intended.
“You won’t,” he repeated slowly.
Selene’s pulse spiraled.
“I mean”
“You won’t,” he said again.
Not questioning.
Confirming.
Her breath hitched.
And just like that
The balance tipped.
His gaze darkened.
Not with anger.
With realization.
“You’re choosing not to tell me,” he said.
Selene swallowed hard.
“I’m choosing what’s best for me.”
“And whatever you’re hiding is part of that?”
Her heart pounded.
“Yes.”
The honesty slipped out again.
Too raw.
Too exposed.
Damian’s eyes dropped.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Back to her stomach.
Selene froze.
No.
Not again.
Not now.
His expression changed.
Not fully.
Not completely.
But enough.
A thought forming.
A connection building.
A possibility taking shape.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
He’s getting closer.
Too close.
You need to stop this.
Now.
“I’m leaving,” she said quickly.
She turned.
Fast.
Too fast.
But she didn’t care.
She just needed distance.
Space.
Air.
Escape.
“Selene.”
His voice stopped her.
Of course it did.
It always did.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Don’t turn around.
Don’t go back.
“What happened that night?”
Her breath caught.
The question hit deeper than everything else.
Because it wasn’t about now.
It wasn’t about suspicion.
It was about them.
The past.
The one thing she had buried the deepest.
“That’s not relevant,” she said.
“It is to me.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t need to know.”
“I do.”
His voice hardened slightly.
“You left without a word after that night. You disappeared. And now you come back acting like nothing happened.”
Her chest tightened.
“You think that was easy for me?”
The words slipped out.
Sharp.
Emotional.
Real.
Damian went still.
For the first time
Truly still.
“It wasn’t easy,” she continued, her voice quieter now, but shaking. “You don’t know what I had to walk away from.”
“Then tell me.”
Her heart broke a little at how simple he made it sound.
As if telling him wouldn’t destroy everything.
As if the truth wouldn’t change the way he looked at her forever.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“Why?”
Because you’ll take everything from me.
Because you’ll never let me go again.
Because you’ll claim something I’m not ready to lose.
“Because it’s not just about me anymore,” she said.
The moment the words left her mouth
She knew.
She had said too much.
Silence.
Complete.
Devastating.
Damian didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
Didn’t breathe.
But his eyes
His eyes locked onto hers with a focus that made her pulse stop completely.
Not just about me anymore.
The words echoed between them.
Heavy.
Revealing.
Dangerous.
His gaze dropped again.
Slow.
Intentional.
Certain.
To her stomach.
Selene’s heart slammed violently.
No.
No no no
When he looked back up
Everything had changed.
The doubt was gone.
The questions were gone.
What replaced them was something far worse.
Understanding.
Sharp.
Clear.
Terrifying.
“Selene,” he said quietly,
his voice lower than before
steady in a way that made her blood run cold.
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
Her breath hitched.
She couldn’t.
Wouldn’t.
Didn’t dare.
And that was all the answer he needed.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes darkened.
And when he spoke again
it wasn’t a question.
It was a realization that shattered everything.
“…you’re pregnant.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD