WHICH MAN STAYS?
Her gaze was a physical touch, cool and assessing, like a scientist observing the reaction in a petri dish.
I swore to tell the truth, my voice a thin thread. I sat, gripping the edge of the wooden chair to stop the shaking.
Aronson began softly, leading me through my history—my stable, if lonely, years raising Leo after the divorce, my employment with the Finches. She painted a picture of a dedicated, isolated mother.
“When did your relationship with Liam Thorne begin?” she asked.
I took a breath. “It wasn’t a single moment. It was… a connection that grew over time. A recognition. We tried to ignore it. We knew it was… complicated.”