I know.
Bryce stops at my right side.
Not touching.
Not speaking.
Just existing with the kind of presence that feels like a warning.
Mark’s eyes flick to him.
Assessing. Sizing.
His jaw tenses. “So this is why you won’t talk to me.”
I grit my teeth. “This has nothing to do with Bryce. It has to do with boundaries and respect.”
Mark laughs once, humorless. “He’s an athlete, Belle. He’ll get bored. They always do.”
Bryce still doesn’t move. But something in the air gets colder.
I take a breath. “Mark, I’m leaving now.”
He steps forward, desperate creeping in. “Just five minutes. I drove across the city. I…”
Bryce finally speaks.
Not loud. Not dramatic. Just a calm razor blade.
“She said no.”
Mark stiffens. “This isn’t your business.”
Bryce stares at him, steady, unblinking. “She made it mine when you showed up uninvited and wouldn’t take her answer.”
Mark scoffs. “You don’t even know her.”
Bryce’s voice doesn’t rise, but it feels like it fills the whole deck.
“I know enough.”
The tension stretches sharp and ugly.
I step in before testosterone becomes weaponized stupidity.
“That’s enough. Mark, please go.”
He looks at me again. Hope. Anger. Something wounded.
“Belle… I love you.”
My voice cracks but stays steady.
“That doesn’t mean you get access to me.”
Silence. Then, slowly, he nods.
And walks away.
