Charm looked at her mother, then at her father.
Then at me.
The fight in her face flickered. It was there. Holy fuck, it was there. I could see it trying to claw its way out from under every lesson this house had beaten into her without ever lifting a hand. Her chin lifted. Her fingers twitched like she wanted to reach for me. Her breath came in shaky and fast.
I held still and gave her the space to do it.
Lance watched her with calm certainty, like he already knew which way she’d bend, and that was when the first real crack opened in me.
Because she looked down toward the rug between us.
The room didn’t explode. The lights didn’t flicker. Lance didn’t smile, not fully. He didn’t have to.
I saw the satisfaction move through his face anyway. I saw it, and I understood something with a clarity that hurt worse than his words ever could.
This was trained into her.
I stepped back from the desk.
Charm’s eyes snapped up. “Ryan.”
I hated the panic in her voice and that some part of me still wanted to answer it.
I dragged my thumb along my bottom lip and laughed once, low and empty. “Right.”
She took one step into the study. “Wait.”
“Basta, Charm.” My voice came out calm, which meant I was closer to losing it than I wanted anyone in that room to know. “I got my answer.”
Her face crumpled. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I know,mi hada. You didn’t have to.”
That hit her harder than if I’d yelled.
Lance’s hand slid into his pocket, controlled again now that the blade was back in Charm’s hand. “Ryan, perhaps it would be best if you took a moment to cool off.”
I looked at him, and every violent thing in me went quiet enough to be dangerous.
“You don’t tell me what’s best.”
Then I looked at Charm.
She stood between us in that pretty sweater with pearl buttons, trembling like the whole house had turned against her even though all it had done was behave exactly the way I always knew it would.
I wanted to pull her into me.
I wanted to shake her.
I wanted to ask her why the fuck she brought me here if she wasn’t ready to stand beside me when it got ugly.
Instead, I nodded once.
“I’m going to leave before I say something you can’t forgive.”
“Ryan, please.”
I walked past her.
