The ride home was quieter than usual.
Not tense.
Not uncomfortable.
Just…quiet.
I stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past, my mind replaying everything that had just happened.
“She matters.”
“I chose her.”
Those words didn't seem like a strategy.
They didn't feel like part of a plan.
They felt real.
And that was the problem.
————————————————————————
“You're thinking too much,” Adrian said beside me.
I glanced at him.
“You’re not thinking enough.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“That's unlikely.”
I exhaled softly.
“That speech..”
“Yes?”
“That wasn't part of the plan.”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Then—
“It worked.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He turned slightly towards me.
“It said what needed to be said.”
My chest tightened.
“Did it?”
