“Of me?”
I looked toward the skyline beyond the glass.
Far below, traffic moved between buildings like blood through narrow veins.
“Of your world.
Of the men with guns outside our bedroom.
Of the calls you took at midnight.
Of the way everyone went quiet when you entered a room.”
“I never hurt you.”
“No.
But you made sure I understood that you could hurt anyone else.”
He absorbed that without defending himself.
The baby shifted, and I pressed both hands against the ache beneath my ribs.
Adrian stood instinctively, then stopped when I stiffened.
“Are you in pain?”
“She is sitting on every organ I have.”
For one second, something almost human passed between us.
The memory of easier days.
His hand on my back while I cooked.
My laughter in the penthouse kitchen.
The way he used to loosen his tie when he finally felt safe enough to breathe.
Then the memory closed.
“Why were you here today?” he asked.
“To sign.”
“You refused the settlement.”
“I do not want your money.”
“You worked double shifts while carrying my child.”
“I worked because I needed to eat.”
His eyes closed briefly.
“You should never have had to survive alone.”
“But I did.”
He nodded.
There was no argument he could make against that.
He moved to the far end of the table and sat again, deliberately leaving distance between us.
“I will not ask you to come home.”
“The tower was never my home.”
“I understand that now.”
“No, Adrian.
You understand that you lost control of me.
That is not the same thing.”
His expression tightened, but he did not lash out.
“What would be the same thing?”
The question was so quiet that I almost missed it.
I thought of every decision made around me during our marriage.
Drivers selected without asking.
Dinners ordered before I arrived.
Security placed outside doors.
Problems solved before I was allowed to name them.
“You would let me choose what happens next.”
He leaned back.
“All right.”
“No investigators following me.”
“All right.”
“No guards unless I request them.”
His jaw flexed.
“That will be difficult.”
“Then start with difficult.”
