Adrian
Negative.
The word lingered in the air between us, carried through the phone line in her soft, breathless voice.
“It’s negative,” Emily repeated, and this time there was no mistaking the relief in it.
Relief.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling of my study as I let the word settle inside me.
Negative.
“I see,” I replied evenly.
I wouldn’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed.
That would be a lie.
Across the line, I could hear her breathing. It was lighter now. Steadier. Like someone who had been holding their breath for days and could finally exhale.
“I was so scared,” she admitted softly.
Scared.
I closed my eyes.
“I know,” I said.
And I did. I had seen it in the way her fingers trembled. In the way she avoided certain conversations. In the way her compos
