“Inmyhouse,” Edward snapped.
The correction hit like a crack of thunder.
Maddy went very still.
Archie’s hand tightened around mine again.
Edward exhaled sharply, like he was physically forcing himself not to escalate further. “Go. To. My. Office.”
For a second, I thought she was going to refuse. Her chin lifted. Her eyes burned. But then — slow, deliberate — she turned on her heel.
The look she shot Muriel’s retreating back promised retribution. Somehow, I didn’t think Edward was walking out ofthis war unscarred either. She didn’t say another word as she disappeared down the hall.
The silence she left behind wasn’t relief.
Edward dragged a hand over his face again, then looked at us. His expression softened by a fraction.
“You two,” he said, tone lowering, trying for steady. “Go upstairs.”
Archie didn’t move.
“It will all be fine,” Edward added.
No one believed that.
Not Jeremy.
Not Archie.
Not me.
And judging by the way the office door slammed down the hall, not Maddy either.
Archie’s posture had gone rigid again, shoulders squared in that quiet, dangerous way I was starting to recognize too well. He and his father stared at each other and I swore the temperature plummeted even further than it had been when Maddy and Muriel went to war.
Edward’s gaze flicked to him. “I’ll handle it.”
“You sure about that?” Archie said before I could stop him.
Jeremy inhaled softly.
Edward’s eyes hardened. “This is not your responsibility.”
Archie stepped half an inch in front of me again. “It became my responsibility the second the debris threatened her.”
The room went silent. Edward looked at me then — really looked — and something unreadable flickered there.
Guilt? Annoyance? Exhaustion?
“It will not happen again,” he said.
Archie didn’t argue further. Didn’t nod either. He simply took my hand and turned toward the stairs.
As we passed Jeremy, he murmured quietly, “Mr. Archie.”
Archie paused just long enough to acknowledge him.
“I will ensure the situation remains contained,” Jeremy said calmly.
