The silence between them became its own language.
Lena noticed it first in the car.
Alex wasn’t speaking — but he wasn’t distant either. His hand rested near hers on the leather seat, close enough that she could feel warmth without touch. Close enough to promise something neither of them was ready to admit.
Outside, rain slid down the windows in slow, uneven lines, blurring the world into shadows and light.
Inside, tension breathed.
“You’re hiding something,” she said quietly.
Not accusing.
Certain.
Alex didn’t look at her. His gaze stayed fixed ahead, jaw tight, fingers tapping once against his knee — a rare sign of unrest.
“I’m protecting you.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
A faint smile touched his mouth, humorless. “In my world, it is.”
Her chest tightened.
His world.
The
