But I clocked every movement like it was a scream.
She was unraveling in real time.
Still wearing the ring. Still wearing my name.
But I could feel the fear in her bones.
That was mine, too.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, low.
Her voice didn’t shake. But I heard it anyway.
That edge. That hesitation.
I turned toward her, leaned in close. Eyes locked on hers like a crosshair.
“This ends now.”
She flinched. Barely.
But I felt her pulse spike across the fucking seat.
Good.
She needed to feel something real before we walked into that courthouse and set the world on fire.
Silence followed.
Heavy. Absolute.
The hum of the engine, the city’s roar, the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on both of us.
The courthouse came into view.
Grey. Towering. Cold.
Like a monument to every rule we were about to break.
I saw her shift beside me.
Hands clenched. Shoulders tight.
She stole a glance at me from under those lashes, like she wanted me to say something soft.
She knew better.
“Nick…”
I didn’t let her finish. “Don’t.”
It came out harder than I meant.
But fuck it—maybe I did mean it that hard.
This wasn’t a conversation.
It was a declaration.
