Because whatever came next, I’d face it alone.
Even if it shattered everything, I thought I finally had.
Even if it meant the man I loved, the man I thought was my forever, was exactly the kind of lie I’d built my whole career fighting against.
And this time?
I wouldn’t just walk away.
I’d light the fucking match myself.
CHAPTER 39
AVA - ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW
I didn’t run.
I didn’t scream.
I didn’t even let myself cry.
I just walked.
Sharp. Fast. Straight to the one person who could prove me wrong.
Harlan.
I didn’t call.
Didn’t text.
Didn’t give him time to come up with excuses.
Because if I waited, I’d lose the nerve.
I’d talk myself out of it.
Or maybe I would just ignore the problem and walk away without knowing the truth.
And I didn’t want to be that woman again.
The January air was razor-sharp as I cut across the street toward the precinct. Ice crunched under my boots, breath turning white in the dark. The cold didn’t even touch me. My chest was already frozen.
So, I walked into the station like I belonged there.
Like I hadn’t just seen Erin Voss naked in the mirror of a picture no one should’ve ever taken.
Like I hadn’t just felt the bottom drop out from under me.
Fluorescent lights hummed. Phones rang. Officers glanced up and back down again. I kept moving until I found him in his office.
The second he saw me; something shifted in his posture.
Subtle. But I knew him. I knew that shift.
“Ava,” he said, standing. “Hey.”
I didn’t answer. Just closed the door behind me. The click echoed too loudly, too final.
