Page 121 of The Bittersweet Bond

He should’ve hung up. But something inside him held him there.

Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was habit. Or maybe, deep down, he needed to hear Cat’s voice—to remind himself why this thing with Evin wasn’t like anything before.

"You know, I thought... I thought it was more than that. Between us," she murmured. "But now I hear you’re back with her? B, I—"

Fuck! I thought I made it clear.

"Cat," he cut in, voice firm. "We’ll talk tomorrow. It’s late. I’m out."

A second of silence.

Then—

Movement behind him.

A presence he didn’t need to turn around to recognize.

But he did.

And the second he met Evin’s gaze, his stomach fucking dropped.

She had heard everything.

Her eyes—cold, unreadable, but still raw in a way that made his throat go tight.

"Really?" she said. Not loud. Not angry. But sharp enough to cut through him.

Bas let the phone drop to his side, his jaw tensing as he held her stare.

"Evin, it’s nothing. She—"

"Let me guess," she interrupted, her voice edged with something that wasn’t quite rage, but damn sure wasn’t calm. "It’s not what it looks like?"

The air between them shifted.

She crossed her arms, her fingers digging into her skin like she was physically stopping herself from saying something she’d regret.

The instinct to brush it off, to deflect—fuck, it was right there.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his hand found her waist, an attempt to pull her closer, to close the space she was trying to put between them.

She stepped back, not much, just enough.

Enough for it to feel like a punch to the ribs.

"Birdie, I’m here," he said, voice lower now. Steady. "With you. You see that, don’t you?"

Her stare didn’t waver.

But the way her jaw locked, the way her lips pressed together—

Yeah. She wasn’t buying it.

"You’re here, huh?" she murmured. "Funny, ‘cause it feels like you’re only half here."

The words hit harder than he expected.

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