The silence didn’t break.
It thinned.
Like glass stretched too far—ready to shatter at the slightest touch.
Emma still stood where she had been.
Rowan’s phone lay on the counter between them.
The screen dimmed.
But the images—
they didn’t.
They burned behind her eyes.
Her laugh.
His hand at her back.
The way she had looked at him.
Like she wasn’t broken.
Like she wasn’t drowning.
Her chest tightened.
Her breath came shallow.
Fast.
“No…”
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Her fingers curled into her palms.
“No, no—”
Rowan moved.
Not rushed.
Not panicked.
But immediate.
He stepped in front of her.
Close enough that she had to look at him.
His hands closed gently around her arms.
Firm.
Grounding.
“Emma.”
His voice cut through the noise.
Low.
Contro
