Valerie froze mid‑motion, her eyes narrowing at Arthur in confusion. “Why not?”

“You literally just moved out for safety reasons. A hotel’s not exactly a stable setup. I’m not letting you slip back into old habits,” Arthur shot back, the words tumbling out without hesitation.

Silence dropped heavily between them. Valerie’s lashes fluttered slowly, realizing this was the first time Arthur had flat‑out rejected something she wanted to do. Old habits? How the hell did he ...