Brielle's POV
The air in the tower still buzzed like it was holding its breath.
Like even the stones knew this moment mattered.
Jake hadn’t moved. Neither had I.
Our foreheads were still pressed together, the silence between us wrapped in everything we didn’t need to say out loud anymore.
“I’m not running,” I whispered.
His breath caught.
And mine?
It hitched like I’d just admitted something dangerous.
“I want to,” I added, voice quieter now. “It’s my first instinct. My fallback. When something feels too big,too permanent,I bolt.”
Jake leaned back just enough to look at me.
“But you didn’t,” he said.
“No,” I said. “Not this time.”
Something shifted in his eyes. Not relief. Not pride.
Something deeper. Like recognition.
He didn’t reach for me again, but I could feel the pull
