Lennox stood there, still in his clothes from the lake, though his shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. His face was a mask of polite, chilling indifference.
"Olivia," he said, his voice flat. "It’s late. Do you want sothing?"
The softened voice he used on was gone. The warmth was gone. He looked at like a landlord looking at a tenant who was late on rent.
"I... I wanted to talk about what I said at the lake," I began, my voice small. "Lennox, I was angry, and I didn’t—I was out of line. I lashed out because I felt cornered, but I didn’t an it. I know we’re still... that you’re still my mate."
Lennox let out a short, hollow breath—not a laugh, just a puff of air.
"It’s okay, Olivia. I forgive you."
He said it so easily. Too easily. There was no weight behind the words, no lingering heat.
"Get so rest," he added, his hand moving to the edge of the door to close it. "Good night."
He was dismissing . Just like that.
I stood there as the door began to swing shut, and a cold panic flared in my chest. This wasn’t right. I realized in that mont that I had co here expecting—maybe even wanting—him to yell at . I wanted him to roar about how much I’d hurt him, to argue, to show the fire that had been in the pool yesterday.
I wanted him to fight for us again.
But this?
This polite indifference was a thousand tis worse.
"Lennox, wait," I said, putting my hand out to stop the door. "You haven’t forgiven ."
He paused, his eyes sliding back to mine. He looked tired, but in a way that had nothing to do with sleep.
"I said the words, didn’t I?" he replied quietly. "I told you it’s fine."
"The words are empty!" I snapped, my voice rising in the quiet hall. "What makes think you haven’t forgiven ? Because you aren’t even looking at . You’re treating like a business associate you’re forced to tolerate. You’re being... nice. And you are never just nice to ."
Lennox finally let go of the door and took a slow step toward , invading my space just enough to make my heart skip.
But he didn’t touch .
He didn’t even lean in.
"You told that knowing you doesn’t make your mate," he said, his voice a low, terrifyingly calm vibration. "You told that my effort—the way I’ve spent years learning the map of your soul—was nothing more than a childish ga of humiliation. You asked for space, Olivia. You spent weeks telling us to back off, to let you breathe, to stop hunting you."
He tilted his head, his expression calm.
"So I’m doing it," he continued. "I’m giving you exactly what you asked for. I’m letting go of the thread. You wanted to be ’just Olivia’? Well, here you are. I’ve stopped fighting for a woman who looks in the eye and tells our bond is dead."
His eyes swept over once, slow and clinical, making feel more naked than I had at the lake.
"I have forgiven you, Olivia. And besides, what you said wasn’t wrong," he added quietly. "You were right. We aren’t mates anymore."
He reached for the door again.
I didn’t think.
I just moved.
The door brushed my shoulder as I slipped inside before he could stop .
Lennox didn’t turn around.
For a mont, neither of us spoke.
Then he exhaled slowly, like I had confird sothing he already knew.
"You shouldn’t be here," he said quietly.
I didn’t answer.
He didn’t wait for one.
He walked past without even a glance, his shoulder missing mine by inches, like I was a piece of furniture he had learned to move around. He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt as he crossed the room, every movent controlled, distant.
I stood there, watching, hoping he would say sothing.
But he shrugged the shirt off and dropped it on the chair. Kicked off his shoes. Unfastened his belt.
"You can sit if you want," he said without looking at . "Or leave. Either way."
My chest ached.
I lowered myself onto the edge of the armchair, my hands clasped so tightly together my fingers hurt. I didn’t trust myself to move closer. I didn’t trust myself to speak.
He disappeared into the bathroom.
The door didn’t close fully.
I could hear the shower turn on.
Water hitting tile.
Steam creeping under the door.
I sat there while he showered.
I stared at the floor and tried to breathe around the weight crushing my chest.
This was worse than anger. Worse than shouting.
When the water finally stopped, my heart jumped like it had been waiting for permission to feel again.
He ca out wrapped in a towel, hair damp, skin still warm from the heat. He didn’t acknowledge . Didn’t slow. Didn’t ask why I was still there.
He dressed quietly—boxers, then sweatpants. No shirt.
The Lennox who used to look at like I was gravity didn’t exist in this room.
He moved to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down on his side, facing away from .
Then he pulled the blanket up.
Covering himself and closing himself off.
The finality of it knocked the breath out of .
I stood slowly, my legs unsteady, and took a few hesitant steps toward the bed.
"Lennox," I whispered.
No response.
I waited.
Nothing.
I sat on the edge of the mattress, close enough to feel the warmth of his body, but not close enough to touch.
He didn’t shift.
Didn’t tense.
Didn’t react.
"I didn’t an it," I said softly. "What I said... about the bond. About you."
Still nothing.
My throat burned.
"I was scared," I continued. "I was angry. I felt like I was losing everything at once, and I lashed out. But that doesn’t an I stopped loving you."
His breathing remained even—like he was already asleep, or like he had trained himself not to respond.
Tears finally blurred my vision.
"I’m right here," I whispered. "I ca here because I wanted you to fight . To pull back. To remind why I’m yours."
My voice cracked.
"But you’re letting go."
The words hung in the air, unanswered.
I stayed there anyway.
Sitting beside the man who used to be my ho.
Listening to his breathing.
Wondering when—exactly—I had crossed the line from asking for space... to being left alone.
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