James Sinclair
I kept my back to the door.
I heard Olivia leave, the soft click of the door signaling her absence. The tension I’d been holding finally loosened, and I exhaled slowly, feeling it all come rushing back. My fists unclenched as I let myself breathe, as I allowed the moment’s quiet to settle in, the echo of her footsteps in the hallway fading into silence.
This distance I’d enforced was starting to feel more like a weight than a shield, but I couldn’t afford to let her see that. Not anymore.
I’d drawn the line—clear, cold, professional. Yet every time I had to reinforce it, it was like another damn cut, small but sharp. Turning her away today, handing her the itinerary, ensuring we’d take separate planes… I’d never been one to second-guess myself, but with her, it was di
