Chapter 164: Lost control

~ Avelyn ~

The door opened softly and for one twisted, stupid second, my heart lifted.

I hated that it did.

I hated that some part of me expected him—expected Xander to be standing there with that unreadable expression, dark eyes already assessing me, already deciding something for both of us. I didn’t know when that expectation had formed. I didn’t remember inviting it in. But it was there, fragile and humiliating.

Instead, Veronica stood in the doorway.

She was dressed immaculately, of course. Pale trousers, silk blouse, hair pinned with careful precision. The kind of composed elegance that screamed control. That screamed wife. And yet something about her posture was… off. Her shoulders were stiff, her chin lifted too high, as if she were holding herself together by sheer will alone.

My chest hardened instantly.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said before she could speak. My voice was flat, tired. “Whatever you came to say, save it.”

I turned my face away, tugging the blanket higher ar