I should be relieved.
Celebrating, even.
Instead, I feel like I’m watching a vein of precious minerals collapse in on itself.
All that potential, all that value, just buried under tons of rock and completely fucking unreachable.
“You okay?” I ask.
She doesn’t turn around. “Yeah. Fine.”
That’s a lie. I’ve built a mining empire by reading people, by knowing when someone’s holding back.
And Sorrel Silva is definitely holding back.
“I thought you’d be happy,” I try again. “We’re being rescued tomorrow. That’s good news.”
“I know.” Her reflection in the glass looks pale. Distant. “I’m really glad.”
Another lie.
What the fuck is going on?
Since the call with Marcel she’s been acting strange. I thought she’d be thrilled we’re getting out of here. That her parents and roommates would know she’s safe.
But instead she’s standing there looking like I just told her the rescue’s been canceled.
Maybe it’s because she doesn’t actually want to be rescued.
Maybe it’s because she wants to stay here with me forever.
Or maybe I’m just fucking delusional.
I cross the room, stopping a few feet behind her. “Sorrel. Talk to me.”
She finally turns. Her eyes are red-rimmed. Has she been crying?
“Did you really mean what you said in the bathroom the other night?” she asks quietly. “About not letting me go without a fight?”
The question hits me like a cave-in. It’s unexpected.
Dangerous.
“Yeah.” I stare into her eyes. I meant it at the time. And might even mean it now.
But the doubts are still there. The logistics are fucking impossible. Different cities. Different tax brackets. Differentworlds. And I can see the same doubts reflected in her brown eyes.
In all honesty, I just want to spend our last day together without thinking about any of that.
At least not yet.
The silence stretches between us.
Finally she steps back. “Maybe I don’t want you to fight for me.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I have to finish my dissertation, you know that, right? And you have your corporate crisis to handle. Our lives are in different cities, different tax brackets. Differentworlds.”
