Each word landed with quiet authority.
I swallowed.
Hard.
Then forced myself to look away from him completely, turning my attention toward the lineup of vehicles in the garage.
My eyes scanned the rows—sleek black sedans, armored SUVs, machines that looked less like transportation and more like extensions of his control.
And then—
The 2026 Toyota Hilux.
Matte black.
Lifted.
Rugged in a way that felt almost defiant in the midst of all that polished luxury.
I had noticed it weeks ago.
There was something about it that felt... different.
Something I secretly wished I could sit behind the wheel of instead of being driven like something that belonged to someone else.
I pointed at it without turning back to him.
“That one.”
A beat of silence.
Then—
A single nod.
“After you.”
I started walking.
Each step felt deliberate.
Like I was trying to prove something—not to him, but to myself.
That I could move through this space without being consumed by it.
Without being affected by him.
But I wasn’t alone.
I felt him behind me almost immediately.
Too close.
Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body with every step he took.
Close enough that the faint scent of cedar and something sharper wrapped around me like a second presence.
Like he was marking the air around me.
