CHAPTER 214
KATYA POV
I stayed seated, the check heavy in my fingers, as if it carried more than just paper and ink. My chest felt tight, my heart hammering like it wanted to escape.
Free. Leave. Gratitude. Change his mind. The words ran through my head, bouncing off each other until none of them made sense.
"Why?" My fingers tightened around the check. It was real. The ink was real. The authority behind the offer… terrifyingly real.
Why was today like this? Why were they all acting… normal, generous, forgiving—like the last few months hadn't happened? Like the basement, like the danger, like everything I'd been through… didn't exist?
My eyes flicked up at Romeo, searching his face for something—anything—that would explain this sudden mercy.
He said nothing. My throat tightened. The silence stretched, thick like he was testing how long I could sit with it before breaking.
"Why?" I asked again, my voice quieter now, rough around the edges. "Why now?"
Still nothing.
