“I want…”
The words slipped out of her like a breath too heavy to carry. Her throat tightened around the rest. She felt Lanry’s hope pressing into her skin like heat. She felt Aiden’s calm, steady presence at her side like a hand she hadn’t taken yet but almost did.
Rowan didn’t blink. He waited like he had all night.
Lanry took a half-step forward, voice shaking. “Say it, Maylen.”
Aiden’s fingers brushed her elbow gently, grounding her. “Take your time.”
She looked between them.
And that was the problem.
“Both of you are pulling me,” she whispered. “And I can’t breathe when you do that.”
Lanry flinched like she had struck him.
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
Rowan nodded slowly, almost approvingly. “Then tell them to stop.”
Maylen inhaled deeply. “I want… space. Just for tonight. I want
