Lana's POV
The door was still open.
The air still tense.
And Leo… was still standing there.
Watching me.
Waiting.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, softer this time.
I nodded.
But it wasn't true.
Nothing felt okay.
Not my thoughts.
Not my heart.
Not the way everything suddenly felt uncertain.
"Why was he here?" Leo's voice turned sharp again.
"Mick?" I said quietly.
"Yeah," he replied. "Why is he coming to my house and touching you?"
Something in his tone irritated me.
"Your house?" I repeated.
His jaw tightened slightly. "That's not what I meant."
"No, that's exactly what you meant," I said. "You're more worried about him being here than why he came."
"I am asking why he came."
"He came to tell me something," I said.
Leo's expression hardened.
"What?"
Silence.
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And then I asked—
"Were you with Chloe today?"
His eyes flickered.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
"Yes," he said.
My heart sank.
Again.
"Why?" I asked.
"Work."
That word again.
I let out a slow breath, shaking my head slightly.
"Do you hear yourself?" I whispered. "It's always work. Always something you don't explain."
"I don't have to report every meeting I attend," he said, frustration rising.
"And I don't have to blindly trust everything you say!" I snapped.
Silence crashed between us.
Heavy.
Sharp.
"Mick said you weren't at work," I added quietly.
Leo laughed once—but there was no humor in it.
"So now you believe him?"
"I don't want to," I admitted. "But what am I supposed to believe, Leo?"
"Me."
The answer came instantly.
Firm. Certain.
Too certain.
"Then give me something to believe in!" I said, my voice breaking slightly.
"Because right now, all I see is secrets."
His expression shifted.
Hurt.
Frustration.
Something deeper.
"I told you I was protecting you," he said.
"From what? The truth?"
"Yes!" he snapped.
The word echoed.
We both froze.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
"Not everything is simple, Lana," he said more quietly.
"There are things you don't understand."
"Then make me understand!" I pleaded.
"I can't."
That was it.
That one sentence.
That one refusal.
Something inside me finally gave up.
I stepped back.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
"Then I'm done asking."
His eyes widened slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means…" I swallowed hard, forcing the words out,
"I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only one trying."
"That's not fair."
"Nothing about this is fair," I replied.
Silence.
Cold.
Final.
"I think… we need space," I said.
The words felt heavy.
Real.
Leo didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just looked at me like I had just pulled the ground from under him.
"Space?" he repeated.
I nodded.
Because if I stayed…
I might break completely.