There’s no hesitation or softening in his words. Just the truth. I don’t know whether that should be comforting or terrifying.
I let out a breath that trembles at the edges, my fingers curling slightly at my sides as I try to process that. “And you’re just… okay with telling me that now?”
“I should have told you sooner,” Asher replies, his tone steady but edged with something quieter beneath it. “I underestimated how fast this would escalate.”
That catches me off guard. Not what he said, but the admission.
“You underestimated?” I repeat, my gaze searching his face.
“Yes,” he says simply. “I thought we had more time before they made a move like this.”
We. The word lands somewhere I don’t want to examine too closely.
I swallow, and try pushing past it. “So, what changed?”
Asher’s jaw
