Chapter Fifty-Four
Ana
I looked directly at him the exact second those words left his mouth, my mind spinning with sudden confusion. I asked him flat out what he could possibly mean by making such a statement to me right now.
Instead of answering immediately, Derek moved closer, taking a slow, deliberate step toward where I was sitting. He fell silent, his eyes scanning my face before he locked his gaze directly into mine. I looked into his eyes for a long, quiet second. A remarkably strange sensation bloomed deep within my chest as he crowded my space, and my heart began to race. Before I could even manage to find my voice or utter a single word to break the silence, he spoke up, his voice dropping into a soft, serious tone.
"Now that you and Desmond are officially no longer around
