Estelle slowly lowered her hands from her ears, the silence afterward almost heavier than the shouting had been.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly as she tried to steady her breathing, one palm drifting to rest against her sternum as if she could physically hold her heart in place. It was still racing.
A faint sheen of tears blurred her vision, but she didn't let them fall yet. Not fully. All she wanted was to answer him. To call back through the wall and say she was there. But the image from the night before.
Roman standing with Lena, the ease in his expression, the way it had shattered something inside her, rose up again without mercy. Her throat tightened.
She leaned back against the pillows, swallowing hard as her eyes drifted toward the small window. Outside, the estate sat still under the muted light, too quiet now. No more voice. No more Roman.
