Chapter Twenty-Seven
The door didn’t close.
Not right away.
Ethan stood there for a moment longer, his back still turned to me, like he was waiting—
Not for me to speak.
But for something else.
Something that didn’t come.
And then—
he left.
The soft click of the door shutting behind him should’ve felt louder.
Heavier.
Final.
But it didn’t.
It barely made a sound at all.
And somehow—
that made it worse.
Because just like that…
he was gone.
I stood there, unmoving.
Listening.
Waiting.
For what, I didn’t know.
Maybe for the pull to snap back.
Maybe for regret to hit me all at once.
Maybe for something inside me to break.
But none of that happened.
Instead—
there was silence.
Deep.
Still.
Unfamiliar.
I exhaled slowly, my shoulders lowering as something inside me
