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My phone was powered down across the room.
Seth calling into silence.
And Trevor stood between me and the exit.
“Yes,” I said.
He studied me.
Searching.
Measuring.
Deciding.
Finally, he stepped aside.
Just a little.
Just enough to look like he was giving me space.
“Good,” he said again.
But the word felt different this time.
Like a verdict.
And somewhere deep inside me, something shifted.
Not panic.
Not yet.
Something colder.
Because now I understood the rules.
This wasn’t about love anymore.
It wasn’t even about John.
It was about control.
And I had just failed my first test.
Chapter 75
Cate
Present
Trevor didn’t touch me again that night.
That almost made it worse.
He moved through the house like nothing had changed. He washed his hands, straightened the stack of mail on the counter, adjusted a picture frame that wasn’t crooked.
Normal.
