The image of that man—Ben—standing too close to Lena, speaking to her with entitlement, with that thinly veiled sense of ownership, replayed in his mind like a broken record. It had taken everything in him not to snap, not to put a permanent end to the problem right there in front of the building.
Approaching what’s mine.
The thought startled him with its rawness.
He hated that Lena did this to him—how she unraveled his control without even trying. He had built his life on precision, on restraint, on calculated distance, and yet every time she was involved, something feral clawed its way up from his chest.
He exhaled slowly through his nose, forcing himself to recalibrate.
It’s because of the babies, he told himself firmly.
That’s all. Responsibility. Protection.
That explanation wa
