Page 83 of The Ache That Stayed

His gaze dropped briefly to the untouched tea in front of him. For a second, a weariness flickered across his face. Something closer to fatigue.

“The patient walked out,” he said.

He said it lightly, but his fingers tightened around the teacup. I blinked. That wasn’t what I expected.

“Were you close?”

He pressed his lips, jaw tightening slightly. His calm composure slipping just a fraction.

Before he could answer, my phone buzzed. Ritu.

“As much as this intrigues me, I have to go,” I said, reaching for my bag.

But Julian spoke again, gentler this time.

“Whatever you’re running from,” he said, “it won’t stay quiet just because you ignore it.”

I didn’t respond.

Because the worst part? I already knew he was right.

CHAPTER 21

Roxanne

It took me twenty minutes to arrive at the location Ritu texted me.

Long enough for my thoughts to spiral. Not long enough to settle them.

Callum still had my car. I’d almost gone back to the cottage to get it—almost texted Santino—but the thought of seeing him again so soon after last night made my stomach twist. So I didn’t.

Coward.

Ritu was already there when I arrived, standing at the entrance, talking on the phone, her hand gesturing animatedly. The sky had shifted again—grey folding into an iron shroud, like the clouds were pressing down instead of drifting past.

“Perfect,” I muttered under my breath, pushing the door open.

“Finally,” she said the second she spotted me. “You’re late.”

“You said twelve.”

“It is past twelve.”

I checked my phone. 12:07.

“Close enough,” I muttered.

She looped her arm through mine before I could say anything else, already pulling me inside.

The gallery was understated—white walls, soft lighting, the kind of curated silence that made your footsteps feel louder than they were.

“Okay,” Ritu said, slipping into work mode instantly, “I want statement pieces. Nothing safe. The manor already has enough of that.”

“That’s because you bought everything safe,” I replied.

She gasped. “Excuse you. I have taste.”

“You have Pinterest.”