That was fair. That was how things worked.
I looked past them, scanning the compound, the entrance, every familiar stretch, half-expecting—half-hoping—to see him emerge. To see Alexander.
He never came.
Minutes stretched. The silence pressed in, heavy and humiliating. The guards remained unmoved, like statues placed there to remind me exactly where I stood.
I swallowed, my throat tight, and turned away.
For a moment, I actually took a step back.
I told myself to leave. To walk away with whatever dignity I still had intact. But as my foot shifted, the truth caught up with me, sharp and unavoidable.
Why did I really come?
It wasn’t for Faye. I wasn’t going to pretend it was.
I came because I hadn’t slept.
Because the moment Alexander pushed me away yesterday—hard, immediate—I felt
