My answer seemed to echo in the charged silence between us, reverberating through the space like a confession I hadn’t meant to make. A flicker of fear rose in my chest—its cause unclear, but its weight undeniable.
No, my inner voice whispered sharply. This is better. This time, he won’t doubt you.
He stepped closer, the sound of his footsteps a low hum against the erratic thrum of my heartbeat. It felt like my chest might burst with the force of it.
“Do you believe me, Jade?” he asked, his voice rough, almost pleading, as though my answer was the only thing in the world that mattered to him.
Something deep inside me, something I barely recognized, pushed the truth to the surface. I hadn’t believed him before—not because he wasn’t trustworthy, but because trusting him terrified me.
“
