…
Now, back in the taxi, I sighed and turned toward the window.
"I don't know," I murmured. "Sometimes I think maybe he does. Sometimes I think it's just… power games to him."
"But you care about him."
It wasn't even a question. I didn't deny it. I couldn't. Because the truth had sunk in over the weeks like water soaking through paper. I loved him. And now that I knew it, I couldn't un-know it.
I was aware of it in the way my chest ached when I heard his name. In the way my body reacted when I remembered his touch. In the way I still checked my phone, hoping to see his name light up even though I told myself I didn't care.
I was aware of it now more than ever. And I knew—I knew—that if I didn't get it under control, it would ruin me. I needed to kill it before it killed me. Because Kael Roman didn't belong to anyone. And I couldn't afford to be the girl who forgot that. Not again.
The elevator ride felt longer than usual.
