(Liam Romano POV)
The call ended sooner than I wanted it to. Not because there was nothing left to say, but because every word I spoke carried the weight of danger. Every syllable was a gamble.
I knew Hailey was there, long before I turned around. Her breath trembled in the stillness, her presence pressed against the air like a shadow that didn’t belong. Suspicion had been circling her for days. I’d been waiting for this moment. It was inevitable.
I didn’t flinch when our eyes met. I didn’t snap, didn’t scold. I simply looked at her, steady and unblinking. There was nothing to explain—not yet. The truth I carried about Ethan could shatter her, and she wasn’t ready to bleed like that. Maybe she never would be.
The phone cooled in my hand as I slid it into my pocket. She took a step back
