Page 41 of Sinfully Yours

We stop at a red light, the glow washing over us, and she finally breaks the silence. "What aren't you telling me?"

I grip the wheel a little tighter.

There it is.

I keep my eyes forward, watching as the light flits from red to green. "Ava?—"

"Don't," she says, voice flat. "Don't dismiss me."

I sigh, pressing my foot against the gas pedal, rolling us forward. "It's not that simple."

"It never is with you, is it?"

I chance a glance toward her, but she's still staring out the window, her fingers curled against the fabric of her dress like she's holding herself back from shaking the answer out of me.

When I don't respond, she turns to face me fully. "Liam."

The way she says my name—soft, unwavering, threaded with quiet defiance—unsettles me in a way I don't have the energy to unpack.

I keep my hands steady on the wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead, but the weight of her question lingers. I could keep driving, pretend I didn't hear her, offer some dismissive excuse. It would be easier.

But Vanessa's voice is still in my head, her words curling through the cracks, leaving behind a slow-burning ache I can't seem to smother.

Does she know what you're hiding yet?

Ava shakes her head. "You keep saying you're protecting me, but from what? Her?" She gives an indignant little grunt. "She's manipulative, sure, but she's not some criminal mastermind."

I let out a low, humorless laugh. "You'd be surprised."

Ava stills.

Her voice drops slightly. "What did she do to you, Liam?"

I grip the wheel harder. "Can we please talk about anything else?"

"No."

Of course she won’t.

I turn onto a quieter street, where the glow of the streetlights is softer, the world outside hushed and empty. The car slows to a stop against the curb, the engine's gentle hum the only sound between us.

Ava watches me, fingers curling tighter around the seatbelt, her breath barely shifting the silence.

I let out a slow exhale, steadying myself before meeting her gaze. There's a part of me that wants to give her everything—to lay the truth bare, to let her see the weight of it and decide for herself whether she still wants to stand beside me.

But the other part—the one that always wins—knows that the second I do, she's gone.

Because Vanessa didn't just leave.

She didn't just break my heart. She tried to ruin me.

And if she thinks for a second that Ava is in the way of something she still believes is hers…

Ava's eyes search mine. "Liam."

I reach up, rubbing the back of my neck, then sigh, voice rough. "She's not the kind of person you cross without consequences."

Ava studies me, her expression softer now, more thoughtful. "And you think she's coming after me because of you?"

---