Rebecca did not move when Julian stepped away.
She remained seated, her attention fixed on him with the same steady calm that had already begun to wear thin against his patience. The apartment held its quiet shape around them, the morning settled, the light steady across the floor and table.
Julian stopped near the table, one hand resting against its edge. The coffee had gone cold. The pastry sat where he had left it, half-eaten and abandoned.
Nothing in the room had changed, but he had.
"I'm not staying in this."
The words came out flat, but they held their weight.
Rebecca didn't react. "You say that like you can step out of it."
"I can step away from him."
"You think that fixes it."
"It starts there."
This time the answer came without hesitation.
Julian's jaw tightened slightly. "He knew," he said. "He knew what he was doing. He knew before I did, and he still walked into my life like it was chance."
Rebecca remained quiet, letting the words sit.
