My pulse stirs, sharp under my skin.
Of course.Of course he’d do this—take me somewhere I can’t run. Where there’s no escape from this conversation.
But I don’t argue.
I press my lips into a flat line and look back out the window, pretending to be calm, pretending I still have control.
The truth is, I don’t.
Not with him sitting this close. Not with everything unraveling faster than I can hide it.
I know it’s time to face some of the monsters I’ve kept buried. But I don’t want to fall apart in front of him—the man who once shattered me, piece by piece.
And somehow—his quiet, his patience—it unsettles me more than his anger ever did.
I was just beginning to handle the spontaneous ambushes—each one loaded with questions and old wounds.
But this? This silence, this patience, this almost-gentle smile… it’s a shift I wasn’t prepared for. And I don’t know how to carry myself inside it.
I take a breath.
And brace myself.
* * *
Dorian
I spot the sign for Lake Bluff just as we hit the next turn.
“Oh, perfect,” I say, easing off the gas. “We’ll take a coffee break here.”
Della doesn’t even glance at me. “I already had coffee this morning, Dorian.”
“Maybe,” I reply, “but I doubt it came with a Lake Bluff view.”
Her gaze finally cuts to me, sharp and unimpressed.
“So, this is the surprise?”
I chuckle under my breath.
“This? No. This is just a coffee break… with a view.”
She lets out a quiet breath, somewhere between amused and annoyed, but she doesn’t argue.
I pull into a parking spot near the little café by the lake, the air cool and bright as we step outside. Inside, the place is quiet—sun spilling through the big windows, the lake glimmering in the distance.
I head straight to the counter.
“Same as always?” I ask her, glancing over my shoulder.
She hesitates for half a second, then nods.
I turn back to the barista. “One hot chocolate, touch of cinnamon. One black. And two sandwiches.”
Della arches a brow as I pay. “Sandwiches?”
“I bet you skipped breakfast,” I answer. “And we still have some miles ahead.”
