Chapter 35

Lia's POV

The silence stretched until it felt unbearable. I could hear my pulse in my ears, could feel the tremor in my hands as I held onto that single sheet of paper like it was the only thing anchoring me.

Run or stay. Walls or windows. Safety or risk.

I looked at him again really looked and I knew. Mason wasn’t dangling power in front of me. He wasn’t even dangling love, though it pulsed between us, raw and undeniable. He was offering me something I had never let myself want before: a chance to choose for myself.

The folder lay open between us, the contract gleaming, the note burning.

My chair scraped against the hardwood as I stood. His eyes followed me, wary but steady, bracing for the worst. I walked past him, toward the kitchen, toward the leaky faucet, toward the decision that waited like a shadow in my chest.

Then I stopped.

I turned, the note still in my hand. “You should know something,” I said, voice steadier now, stronger than I felt. “If I do this if I choose you don’t