Chapter 2

Ethan’s car had barely pulled out of the garage when the black SUV ahead suddenly hit the brakes.

The passenger window rolled down.

Zion’s pale face appeared in the darkness.

“Daniel, can we talk?”

Ethan slammed on the brakes and swore under his breath.

“This guy seriously dares to start something?”

Daniel stared ahead without getting out.

Mia stepped out and went to the passenger door.

Her police jacket was still draped over Zion’s shoulders.

With the headlights behind her, her face was hidden in shadow. She looked as cool and composed as ever.

“Don’t go over there,” Ethan said quietly. “He’s waiting for you to lose your temper so Mia can jump in and defend him.”

“I know.”

Daniel unbuckled his seat belt.

Keeping quiet until the bitter end wouldn’t make him look dignified.

It would only make people think they could walk all over him.

He opened the door and walked straight toward the SUV.

Zion stayed in the passenger seat.

He lowered the window all the way, his face carefully arranged into the same weak, fragile expression.

“Daniel, I saw you back there. I know you misunderstood Mia. She was only worried I might have another episode, so she offered to drive me home.”

“Are you done?”

Zion froze for a second.

Daniel had never spoken to him like that before.

No matter how badly he was treated, Daniel had always tried to save Mia from embarrassment. He stayed polite. He kept his temper under control.

Even when he knew Zion was provoking him, he chose to let it go.

“Daniel, please don’t be mad. I can apologize.”

Zion coughed twice before continuing.

“I know tonight is your anniversary, and I shouldn’t have called her. But that crash left me with serious trauma. Mia is the only person I trust when things get bad.”

He paused.

“You’re her husband. More than anyone, shouldn’t you want her to have peace of mind?”

Mia didn’t stop him.

She simply looked at Daniel, clearly waiting for an answer too.

There it was again.

Zion needed her, so Daniel was expected to step aside.

Zion was sick, so Daniel was expected to put up with it.

Everyone expected Daniel to be understanding.

Not once in five years had anyone asked how any of this made him feel.

Daniel turned and walked back to Ethan’s car.

He reached through the open window and grabbed a half-empty bottle of water from the cup holder.

Ethan immediately caught on.

“Throw it right in his face! I’ll deal with the fallout!”

Mia frowned.

“Daniel, don’t start.”

Daniel twisted off the cap.

The next second, he emptied the entire bottle over Zion’s head.

Zion sat frozen for a full two seconds.

His soaked hair clung to his forehead as water ran down his face.

The fragile expression he had worked so hard to maintain disappeared completely.

He even forgot to cough.

“Daniel, you...”

“If you’re having an episode, maybe that’ll help you snap out of it.”

Daniel tossed the empty bottle into a nearby trash can.

One clean throw.

Right in.

Not a second of hesitation.

Mia immediately stepped up to Daniel.

Her voice shot up.

“Daniel, have you lost your mind? He’s sick!”

“Does PTSD make you allergic to water?”

“That’s not the point! You humiliated him right in front of me. Do you have any idea how far you’ve crossed the line?”

Daniel looked at her.

Then he gave a short laugh.

“The line?”

His voice stayed quiet.

His eyes didn’t.

“You left your husband alone on your wedding anniversary just to rush over to another man and wrap your jacket around him.”

His gaze hardened.

“Is that where Detective Carter draws the line?”

Mia’s expression darkened.

“I already told you. Zion’s situation is different. If he hadn’t been having an episode tonight, I wouldn’t have left.”

“He’s had forty-seven episodes in six months.”

Mia visibly faltered.

“Eleven of them happened when you and I already had plans. Eight happened during dinners with my family. Six happened on nights when you actually had time off.”

Daniel listed them one by one.

The calmer he sounded, the sharper every word became.

“And the other twenty-two happened right after you and I had an argument.”

He looked straight at her.

“Mia, you’re a cop. You follow evidence for a living. Forty-seven episodes, all with timing that convenient, and you never once thought it was suspicious?”

“Enough!”

Mia cut him off.

Anger flashed in her eyes.

She looked irritated, as if Daniel had just pointed out something she didn’t want to admit was true.

“His condition was diagnosed by a doctor. You’re not a medical professional, so you don’t get to question it.”

Her voice hardened.

“You’re a grown man, Daniel. Why are you picking a fight with someone who’s sick?”

Inside the SUV, Zion lowered his head and wiped the water from his face.

Right on cue, his shoulders began to shake.

“Mia, stop. This is all my fault.”

When he looked up again, his eyes were already red.

“It makes sense that Daniel hates me.”

His voice trembled.

“If I hadn’t been waiting for you that night, I never would’ve gotten into that accident. I wouldn’t be like this now.”

Mia turned toward him and handed him some tissues.

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“But Daniel clearly doesn’t want me back in Cloud City, so maybe I should leave.”

Zion gave a bitter smile.

“The treatment overseas didn’t help much, but at least I wouldn’t be getting between the two of you.”

“You don’t have to leave!”

Mia answered instantly.

So quickly that she didn’t leave Daniel even a shred of dignity.

After calming Zion down, Mia turned back to Daniel.

This time, there was nothing but disappointment in her eyes.

“Apologize.”

Daniel frowned.

“For what?”

“For what you just did. Apologize to Zion.”

Ethan was already out of the car.

He stepped in front of Daniel.

“Are you out of your mind, Mia? Zion dragged you away from your own anniversary in the middle of the night, and instead of making him apologize to Daniel, you’re demanding Daniel apologize to him?”

“This is between Daniel and me. Stay out of it.”

“Stay out of it?”

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

“When Daniel was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer, I was the one who signed his admission papers. Where were you? Celebrating Zion’s birthday with him.”

Mia’s expression shifted.

“That was an emergency. I went to the hospital afterward.”

“Yeah, on the day Daniel was discharged. You stayed for less than ten minutes. You really want credit for that?”

“Ethan.”

Daniel stopped him.

There was no point digging up the past anymore.

Those memories had once kept him awake at night.

Now, talking about them only made him tired.

Mia stared at Daniel.

She had expected him to back down like he always did if she pushed hard enough.

All he had to do was apologize to Zion, and they could put the whole thing behind them.

But Daniel didn’t even look at Zion.

He didn’t look at her either.

His gaze simply moved past her, as if he had finished watching a pointless scene and wanted nothing more to do with it.

“I’m not apologizing.”

“Daniel!”

“If you think throwing water on him was against the law, call the police.”

Daniel stepped aside.

“There are cameras everywhere down here. Your coworkers can pull the footage too.”

His eyes stayed on hers.

“Then they can see for themselves why Detective Carter was downstairs with her stepbrother on her fifth wedding anniversary instead of being home with her husband.”

Mia’s breath caught.

Her job put her under more scrutiny than most people.

If this reached her department, people would talk no matter what had actually happened.

She hated letting her personal life interfere with work.

Daniel had always gone out of his way to protect her from that kind of attention.

But tonight, he was the one bringing up the security footage.

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m stating the facts.”

Daniel turned and headed back toward Ethan’s car.

Mia rushed after him and grabbed his arm.

“Stop.”

Daniel paused.

He lowered his eyes to her hand.

They had been married for five years, and he could count on one hand the number of times Mia had reached for him first.

Once, even a touch this simple would have made him happy for hours.

Now, it only felt ironic.

“Let go.”

“You’re not leaving until you explain yourself.”

Her grip tightened.

“You followed me from the house to the garage, and then you had Ethan drive after us. Isn’t this all because you wanted to force me to go home with you?”

So that was what she thought.

To her, everything he did was just another attempt to compete for her attention.

Daniel calmly peeled her fingers from his arm one by one.

He was careful not to hurt her.

“Mia, I didn’t come down here to make you stay.”

“Then why did you come?”

“To see the truth for myself.”

The words stopped her cold.

Daniel turned away and got into the car.

Before leaving, Ethan shot Zion one last glare and slammed the door.

A moment later, the car pulled away and disappeared into the nighttime traffic.

Mia stood at the curb, watching the taillights fade into the distance.

There had been no anger in Daniel’s eyes.

None of the hurt she usually saw after they fought.

There had been nothing at all.

That unfamiliar calm unsettled her.

For the first time, she had the strange feeling that things were slipping out of her control.

“Mia, my chest feels tight.”

Zion’s voice came from behind her.

Mia finally looked away from the road and opened the driver’s door.

“I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“What about Daniel?”

“He’s just upset. He’ll get over it in a couple of days.”

Mia started the SUV, her voice returning to its usual calm.

For five years, Daniel had always been the one to make peace after every fight.

She was used to coming home and finding the entryway light on.

Used to seeing a hot meal waiting on the table.

Used to knowing Daniel would still be there, no matter what.

So she was certain this time would be no different.

In Ethan’s car, Ethan kept glancing at Daniel in the rearview mirror as he drove.

“I’ll admit, dumping that water on him felt good. But Mia’s definitely going to come after you for this.”

“Let her.”

“You’re already working on the divorce papers. You still planning to go back to Clearwater Heights?”

“Not for now.”

Daniel leaned back in his seat.

He turned off location sharing on his phone, then muted Mia’s messages.

Outside the window, the city lights blurred into long streaks as familiar streets slipped past.

For the first time in years, the weight that had been sitting on his chest felt a little lighter.

Ethan was quiet for a moment before smiling.

“Now that’s more like you.”

The brilliant, proud, clearheaded Daniel he used to know was finally starting to come back.