Aiden’s POV

Beta Vance left without a word. For a brief second, the room felt too small to contain the silence that followed. Haven stood across from me, her right sleeve hanging uselessly at her side, the other clenched tight as if she were bracing herself for a blow that never came.

I didn’t move, I simply looked at her.

“Aiden,” she said first, her voice heavy with forced composure. “W-what are you doing here?”

I said nothing.

Her eyes flickered, searching my face for a ...