Silence.
For a brief second, I thought he might reach for me. But he didn’t. Instead, he just nodded, resigned.
I didn’t say anything else either. I stood up and walked out of the room without looking back.
Jesse was waiting for me in the car.
As we drove, Jesse glanced at me. “So, what happened with Ellen?”
I hesitated for a split second. My mind flashed back to Julius, to the conversation I had just walked away from. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him the truth—but the words wouldn’t come out.
Instead, I forced a small smile. “She was having some financial problems, so I lent her some money. Nothing too serious.” I let out a light laugh, hoping it sounded natural.
Jesse didn’t respond right away. His sharp gaze lingered on me for a moment.
But then he simply nodded. “Okay. Wel
