At that moment, the soft click of the door unlocking reached my ears. I quickly ended the call, bracing myself.
When I looked up, Caleb was there. His smile was dazzling, his eyes alight with a brilliance that made my chest tighten. It wasn’t meant for me. It couldn’t be.
“Not close to who?” he asked, playful and curious.
“Not close to you,” I said bluntly, though my voice wavered under his gaze.
Caleb’s brow lifted. Before I could step back, he closed the distance and pulled me against him. Mischief danced in his grin, his breath warm against my ear.
“Really?” he murmured, low and teasing. “Then tell me… how exactly are we not close? Haven’t we shared enough to count, hmm?”
The intimacy that had once made my heart race now set it pounding with anxiety. I struggled gently in his hold, and then my eyes caught it—the faint smear of lipstick on his collar.
The burns on my wrist throbbed sharply, each pulse a reminder of betrayal I hadn’t healed from. Tears sprung unbidden, hot and unstoppable.
“Valencia… what happened?” Caleb’s voice shifted, panic replacing his usual confident lilt. He rolled up my sleeve, exposing the angry red marks on my skin.
Alarm flickered across his face. “When did this happen? How? Why didn’t you tell me?”
His concern seemed genuine, yet it only deepened the ache inside me. Had he truly forgotten the events at the banquet so easily?
I stayed silent, torn between shattering the mask of his affection with the truth or letting him continue pretending it was all normal.
“Alright, enough tears. I’ll handle this for you.”
He brushed a stray strand of hair from my face, dabbed at the tears trailing down my cheeks, and pressed a soft kiss to my temple before standing to fetch a cooling compress, muttering to himself as he went.
“Look at you—so independent, yet still flinching at every little pain. Always crying. What would you do if I weren’t here?”
I stared blankly at the angry red mark on my wrist. Seven years of being coddled, of him wrapping me in care and attention. What would I have done without Caleb? And yet… I didn’t want him anymore. I didn’t want this pretend connection. Not anymore.
That night, sleep evaded me. Whether it was the sting in my hand or the sharp realization of my own feelings, I couldn’t find rest. I tossed and turned, sheets damp with sweat, desperate for oblivion. Hours passed before exhaustion finally claimed me.