Rose’s POV

The words hung between us, charged with meaning and weighted with emotion. I could feel the tension rising in me, in my blood, but I did not step back. Not again.

"I'm not pushing you away from me," he said, growing firmer. "Maybe you are reading more into it. I'm still that same person you've known. I just. I don't know, Rose. I just need some space." I smiled, though I did not see humor in it. “Space? Is that it? Are you seriously claiming that all of that—the entire ...