That hit slightly differently than I expected.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it wasn’t.
I leaned slightly against the bar.
Not close.
Not distant.
Just there.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said.
That should’ve ended it.
It didn’t.
Because I didn’t move away.
And neither did she.
ROWAN
There it was again.
That contradiction.
His words never matched his presence.
“You’re doing that thing again,” I said quietly.
“What thing.”
“Controlling everything except what you’re actually doing.”
That got a reaction.
Small.
But real.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Not anger.
Recognition.
“You don’t like that I’m here,” he said.
That made me pause.
Because it wasn’t framed like a question.
It was observation.
I looked at him properly.
