The car ride had been silent.
Not the comfortable kind. Not even the angry kind.
It was the kind of silence that pulsed, like something alive.
Watching. Waiting.
I sat still, hands folded tightly in my lap, knuckles bone-white. I didn't dare look at him. I knew he was mad at me for walking out on him.
The windows blurred with city lights,but I couldn't focus on anything. Just his presence. Just the way the air in the car felt too thin with him in it.
I shouldn't have walked ahead of him back at the apartment. That much was obvious now.
He hadn't said anything when I did it - Just followed, quiet. But the moment the car door shut behind me, I felt it.
That shift.
Like he was letting me sit with the mistake before he decided what to do with it.
"We'll arrive in seven minutes," he said at last. His voice was low, almost gentle. But every word felt like it carried weight.
He didn't look at me. He didn't have to.
I swallowed hard, nodding before I realized he couldn't see it. My throat was too dry for words anyway.
When the car stopped, the driver came around and opened Aiden's door first.
I reached for mine.
"Wait."
The words was soft, but it hit like a command.
I froze.
Aiden stepped out first. Then turned, hand extended towards me like this was some kind of fairytale. It wasn't.
I hesitated only for a second, but even that felt like too long.
His eyes caught mine, and my heart stuttered.
I took his hand.
It was warm. Steady.
Mine trembled in his grip.
He didn't say anything as he helped me out, but his fingers tightened just enough to remind me who was leading. Who always led.
The building in front of us was wrapped in glass and marble. The kind of place where people smiled with sharp teeth and danced around truths like they were ballroom steps.
Aiden leaned down, lips near my ear. "Smile for me, Caitlin."
It wasn't a suggestion.
I forced my mouth into something that might pass for a smile. My cheeks ached instantly.
He didn't even look to see if I obeyed. He just knew I would.
He always knew.
Inside, the air was colder, scented with wealth and danger. Every detail, the crystal chandeliers, the velvet drapes, the soft murmur of laughter, felt like a dream I wasn't allowed to wake from.
I stayed close to Aiden's side, not because I wanted to, but because it was safer there. Safer than being caught out on my own, not knowing who to trust. Not knowing who he'd told what.
This night wasn't about me. It was about the plan. The reason I hadn't run the first chance I got.
But even that felt distant now.
Because right here, right now, Aiden was everything. The threat. The shield. The storm I couldn't escape.
Aiden moved through the crowd like a politician, all quiet smiles and calculated charm. I followed a step behind him, nodding when I was supposed to, offering silent smiles that never reached my eyes.
The night stretched longer than it should have.
No one saw me.
Not really.
I was just the girl on his arm. The well dressed shadow trailing a man everyone respected or feared. I couldn't always tell the difference.
By the time we left the mall, my feet were sore, and my jaw ached from pretending i belonged in that world.
The car ride home, was another silence I didn't dare break.
When he dropped me off at the penthouse and said he had "something to handle," I didn't ask questions. I just nodded. Quiet. Obedient.
He left me with a kiss on the cheek that felt more like a warning than affection.
And then he was gone.
Only when the door clicked shut behind him did I breathe again. I peeled off the dress like it was made of glass and regret, tossed it across the bed, and pulled on one of his old shirts(soft cotton that still smelled faintly like him.)
I hated that I noticed. Hated more that it brought me any comfort.
I was halfway through wiping off my makeup when my phone buzzed under a pile of pillows.
Sophia. Finally.