The soft click hadn't even fully echoed before the door opened again.
And there he was.
Kael.
Unbothered. Of course.
He stepped in casually, like he hadn't just been ambushed by a woman calling herself his fiancée two minutes ago. Like I hadn't practically sprinted out of the war zone.
He shut the door behind him without a sound. I straightened up, smoothing the front of my blouse, trying to tuck all the crazy back inside me. I could do calm. I could do poised. This wasn't my first time pretending I hadn't just been hit by a train.
He leaned against the edge of the wall, his expression unreadable but his voice… lower, gentler. Detached, but warm.
"I thought about making a joke," he said finally, "but I didn't want to risk you throwing something at me."
My lips twitched. Barely.
He walked in further, a hint of that teasing smirk tugging at his mouth like nothing had even happened, like he could just slip back into that magnetic pull between us without missing a beat.
