Page 205 of Only Be Mine

For me.

The message was clear.

You’re not leaving.

My hands felt cold. I pressed them together in my lap to hide the tremor.

“You don’t need to lock it,” I said. My voice sounded distant to my own ears.

Trevor tilted his head slightly.

“Of course I do,” he replied. “We’re having a sensitive conversation.”

I swallowed. “You think I’m going to run?”

He gave a small, almost amused exhale. “I think you’re overwhelmed.”

He pushed off the door and crossed the room slowly, reclaiming his spot, but not sitting this time. He remained standing, just inside my line of sight.

“I need you calm,” he said. “Not reactive.”

“I’m not reactive.”

“You called the detective behind my back.”

There it was.

The crack.

Still smooth.

Still controlled.

But sharp.

“I needed answers,” I said carefully.

“You had me.”

I forced myself to hold his gaze. “That wasn’t the same thing.”

Something shifted behind his eyes.

“Cate,” he said, voice lowering, “do you understand what you’ve done?”

My heart stuttered. “What I’ve done?”

“You involved law enforcement after I asked you not to.”

“You asked me not to be managed.”

His jaw tightened. “That’s not what I said.”

“It’s what you meant.”

The silence stretched.

Trevor stepped closer.