The office hummed with the usual rhythm of ringing phones and hurried footsteps, but for me, the air was sharper, charged with the weight of every secret pressing against my chest. I walked in with my head high, every inch of me wrapped in the armor of professionalism. No cracks. No softness. Not today.
I needed to keep control.
My heels clicked firmly against the polished floor as I entered my office, a file pressed tightly to my chest like a shield. Behind me, I heard him—his voice, soft but insistent.
“Clara.”
I froze for only a fraction of a second before turning. “Mrs. Romano,” I corrected, my tone clipped. “You’re at work. Don’t forget that.”
Liam’s jaw tightened, his eyes burning with something I refused to name. He shut the door behind him, shutting us into a silence that thru
