She didn’t have to reach for it.
She belonged to it.
He stepped backinto the shadows, letting the wet pavement drink hissilhouette.
Let Gideon think she was his to guard.
Let him posture with his brittle charm and borrowed power.
Arden didn’t needsomeone to shield her.
She didn’t need to be softened.
Didn’t need silk and safety.
She needed space to rage.
To burn without apology.
And when the world tried to contain her?—
he would be the one who let her be wildfire.
The rose wasn’t a gift.
It was a vow.
A whisperedtruth curled beneath her skin:
Someone sees you.
Someone knows you.
Someone won’t let you fade.
That brief pause—thathitch in her breath when she saw it?
That was the beginning.
Soon, she’d stop pretending.
Soon, she’d know.
That he had always been there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Waiting for her to come home.
Lether lie to herself for now.
Let her drink in Gideon’s counterfeit warmth.
It would only make her awakening more cataclysmic.
More brutal.
