Quinn's name.
My heart hammers violently against my ribs, the sound loud in my ears as I peer at the notification banner. An email. The subject line is completely blank, offering no hint of what might be inside, no clue to prepare myself.
I shouldn't open it. Every rational part of my brain knows this. I should let her have space. Let her move on without me haunting her life. Let myself move on to wherever the hell Orcs go when they've failed this spectacularly at courting.
But I'm not that strong.
I've never been that strong where she's concerned.
I tap the message with a thumb that feels too large and clumsy, my hands suddenly unsteady.
No text. Just a single image attachment, loading slowly on my screen.
I open it, and my breath catches hard.
It's a photograph of the rolling pin she was holding in the alley, the heavy marble one she grabbed to defend herself. She's laid it on her kitchen counter next to a handwritten note.
The note reads:Thank you for letting me fight my own battles. And for giving me the weapons to win.
Below that, in smaller text:I'm sorry I didn't say it out loud.
I see the image until my eyes burn, reading the words over and over, trying to extract meaning from every loop and curve of her handwriting.
She's thanking me.
She's apologizing.
But she's doing it from a distance. Through a screen. Without asking me to come back.
Because she still needs space.
Because I still terrify her.
Because even when I do everything right, I'm still fundamentally wrong for her world.
I set the phone down carefully and return to packing, moving faster now. The sooner I leave, the sooner she can fully heal from the damage I caused. The sooner she can find someone appropriate.
The thought makes me want to put my fist through another wall, but I resist.
Barely.
I'm zipping the duffel closed when a soft, hesitant sound cuts through the silence.
A knock.
Quiet. Timid. Nothing like the aggressive pounding I'm used to from delivery drivers or suppliers.
I freeze, every muscle in my body going rigid.
The knock comes again, slightly louder this time, followed by a voice so quiet I almost miss it.
"Lanek?"
Quinn.
My heart stops completely.
She's here. At my door. After everything. After I gave her space and respected her boundaries and did everything she asked.
