LAURA’S POV
Why did Richard walk in like that?
The question wouldn’t leave me. It crawled under my skin, coiled in my chest, and refused to let go.
Even as Elijah’s shower hummed behind the frosted glass, even as warm steam fogged the mirrors and the scent of sandalwood clung to the air, my mind was somewhere else. My body was still trembling—not from Elijah’s touch, but from the invasion that followed.
Richard had knocked.
He’d paused.
And then—he’d entered anyway.
Not like a professional.
Not like a friend.
Not like the man who had once pledged to protect me with his life.
He entered like a man expecting something—hoping for something.
Something forbidden.
Something he believed he still had a right to.
I sat on the edge of the bed, fingers clenched into the wrinkled fabric o
