Page 141 of Only Be Mine

Trevor’s face drained of color.

He took a step back, running a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping like he’d hit an invisible wall.

“Oh my God,” he said under his breath. “Cate…”

His eyes were glassy when he looked back at me, shaken and unsteady.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I had no idea. I swear, I didn’t know.”

Something in his voice cracked, and I felt my chest respond to it instinctively - the pull toward someone who looked as undone as I felt.

“When were they going to tell you?” he asked. “Did they already?”

“They left messages,” I said. “They want to meet.”

Trevor’s jaw tightened, his concern sharpening into something more focused.

“You’re not doing that alone,” he said immediately.

Seth shifted. “Cate can handle a conversation…”

“No,” Trevor interrupted, calm and measured. “She shouldn’t have to.”

He turned to me, lowering his voice. “This is serious. You don’t know what they’re going to ask. What they might imply. That’s not something you face by yourself.”

I hesitated. “They just want to talk.”

“And they will,” he said. “With me there.”

Seth’s gaze flicked between us. “Trevor…”

“I’m her husband,” Trevor said simply. “I’ll be present for any interviews. Any meetings. Anything involving her.”

The word present felt heavy and final.

Trevor exhaled, rubbing his palms together like he was grounding himself. “I’m sorry,” he added, softer now. “I don’t mean to take over. I just… this is a lot. For all of us.”

He looked at Seth then. “Thank you for being here.”

The dismissal was polite. Surgical almost.

Seth didn’t argue. He looked at me instead, searching my face.

“You want me to stay?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, then felt Trevor’s hand slide into mine, steady and warm.

“I think I’m okay,” I said, even as something inside me wavered. “Trevor’s here.”

Seth nodded slowly. “Okay. Call me if anything changes.”

“I will.”

He hesitated at the door, then added quietly, “I mean it.”

The door closed behind him.

The house felt smaller with just the two of us inside it.