Page 127 of Knight

“Will you stop it!” Her voice cracks like a whip. “You want to joke about this? Fine. Let’s talk about how you went from having me in your bed to treating me like a threat. About how you pushed me away then couldn’t even commit to staying out of my life properly.”

“I never claimed to be good at keeping boundaries. I’m a hacker. Being in places where I don’t belong is my forte.”

“You never claimed to be good atanythingexcept hacking and sarcasm.” She jabs a finger into my chest. It sends a jolt of pain through my shoulder. “Why am I here? Why now? Because watching through cameras stopped being enough? Because you got bored playing long-distance stalker?”

“Because I miss you.” The truth slips out.

“Missing me isn’t enough.” She doesn’t miss a beat, her voice dropping lower. “Not after everything you’ve done. If you want something from me, you need to earn it. Stop deflecting. Stophiding behind jokes. Stop pretending this is anything except you being too afraid to actually face what’s happening between us.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“You’re a liar.” She’s fucking relentless in her fury. “You’re terrified. That’s why you pushed me away. It’s why you hide away in this fucking fortress instead of actually dealing with feelings like a normal person.”

“Normal is overrated.”

“So is obsessing over camera feeds instead of talking to me, but that didn’t stop you.” Her hand fists in my shirt. “Tell me what you really want.”

“You want the truth?” My voice breaks, but I don’t care. “Fine. I can’t sleep because every time I close my eyes I see you walking away. I can’t focus because I’m too busy checking camera feeds to make sure you’re safe. I can’t—” I shake my head.

“Can’t what?” She tightens her grip. “Finish the fucking sentence.”

“I can’t stop needing you.” The words erupt as a shout. “There! Are you happy now?”

“No.” She doesn’t let go. “Because you’re still trying to control everything. Still dictating terms, and acting like only you have the right to decide what happens between us.”

“Thenyoutellmewhat happens next.” My hands find her waist. “Tell me how to fix this.”

“That’s not how this works.” She pulls back, but I don’t let go. “You don’t get to push me away then decide when I come back. If you want this… if you wantme …then you need to fight for it.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Neither do I.” Her voice softens, but the steel remains. “But I’m done watching you watch me through cameras. Either let me in completely or let me go. No more halfway.”

“Those are my only options? No chance of a write-in vote?”

“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” She shoves me hard enough that I stumble back. Pain explodes through me. I manage not to let it show on my face. “Everything is a joke to you.”

“Not everything.” I catch my balance, my shoulder protesting the movement. “Not you.”

“Thenproveit.” She starts for the door. “When you figure it out, you know where to find me. I’m sure your cameras can point the way.”

“Eva—”

“Fourweeks, Knight.” She doesn’t turn back. “Four weeks of silence broken only by mystery deposits and creepy surveillance. You don’t get to joke your way back from that.”

She turns and walks out. The sound of the door closing behind her echoes through the apartment, and I’m left staring at the empty space she occupied moments ago.

CHAPTER SEVENTY

Evangeline

My hands won't stop shakingas I walk out of Knight's apartment. His security system hums while I wait for the elevator, but he doesn't try to stop me. He doesn't follow me. He just lets me go … like he did four weeks ago.

Onlythistime I'm the one choosing to leave.

The trip down to the lobby takes forever, each second stretching unbearably. Every instinct screams at me to turn back, to let him deflect with humor, to accept less than I deserve just to stop this ache in my chest. But I won’t. I can’t.

It's strange how a place can change meaning so completely. The first time I walked into this lobby I was carrying a phone loaded with someone else’s agenda. I was naive enough to trust a stranger online, desperate enough to believe in promises of help. Now I’m walking out because I won’t accept half measures or excuses from someone who refuses to face me directly.

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