Page 156 of Ruin Me Gently

It was too much. My head hurt. My body hurt. My brain felt like it had been tossed in a blender.

“Do you want to know my name now?”

I blinked.

Did I?

I mean, obviously. I’d been practically begging to know since day one.

But also—fuck.Did I?

“Well,” I sighed, rubbing my fingers against the marble. “It’d be kind of weird if I said no now.”

There was only a second of quiet between us before he said, “Silas.”

I mulled it over, rolling the name around in my head.Silas.Huh. I liked it. Smooth. Strong. A little sharp, but solid. Better than ‘Mr. Stalker.’

“Silas what?”

“Silas Graves.”

I stared at him. I blinked. I frowned. “Silas fucking Graves?”

His mouth quirked like he was fighting back a smirk. “No, my middle name’s Emilio. Not ‘fucking.’”

Oh, for God’s sake.

“I like it.” I said.

Something flickered in his expression for a second before he nodded once. “I’m glad.”

I squeezed my eyes shut as the silence stretched out between us. Not uncomfortable or heavy, just there.

My body was so damn sore, my head a foggy mess, my ribs felt like they’d gone ten rounds with a sledgehammer, and now I was sitting in the penthouse of a man I’d only ever half-seen until right now, trying to digest the fact that he had a real name. A real face. A real life outside of the shadows he’d hidden in.

I peeked at him from the corner of my eye and huffed out a small breath. “This is a lot.”

“I know, sweetheart. What can I do for you right now?”

“Euthanise me?” I asked as I sat up straight, trying to push past the pain.

“That’s not funny.”

“It is a little bit.”

“Do you want to lie down?”

I let out a quiet snort. “I’ve been lying down for—what did you say? Eleven days?”

“Yes. And you’re still foggy and hurting. You’re wincing every time you breathe.”

I wanted to argue, but he had a point.

He looked exhausted. The tension in his jaw, the subtle hollow beneath his bloodshot eyes.

“You’re tired,” I said softly.

“I’m fine.”

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