Amelia POV

The words hung between us like a fragile glass ornament, swaying, threatening to shatter at the slightest breath.

“I’m staying,” I’d said. “And I need you to tell me everything.”

Ethan blinked, clearly caught off guard. For a split second, something flickered across his face—confusion, then caution, then a carefully neutral calm.

“What do you mean?” he asked slowly. “Everything about what?”

I watched him closely, every muscle in my body coiled ...