I stand with my back against the door for a long moment after it closes.
Listening.
Waiting to hear if Bael will knock again, if he'll push, if he'll try to force this conversation past the boundary I just set.
But there's nothing, just silence.
Then footsteps retreating down the hallway.
Away.
I exhale slowly and move away from the door.
My hands are shaking slightly.
I press them against my stomach, feeling the bump, feeling the baby move in response to my elevated heart rate.
Nothing happened.
That's what he said.
Three days of silence, three days of me convinced he slept with Xue Lian, three days of falling apart trying to reconcile what I thought was happening with what I wanted to be true.
And now he shows up at my door past midnight to tell me nothing happened.
Like that fixes it, like those two words erase everything else. I sit on the edge of the bed, still trying to process.
