The door clicked softly behind Raymond, and the penthouse fell silent again, but it wasn't the same kind of silence as before.
This time, it wasn't hollow neither was it suffocating.
It was heavy… but grounding. Like the air after a storm when everything is still, and waiting.
Jake remained seated on the couch, elbows on his knees, staring at the untouched glass of water. His breathing had steadied, but his heart still felt raw, open, and bruised.
Raymond's words lingered in the room like unspoken truths carved into the walls.
"You don't get to decide the timeline of her forgiveness."
"Give her space but not abandonment."
"Love her with humility anyway."
Jake closed his eyes, letting all of it sink deeper. Every line. Every reminder. Every truth he'd been running from.
Raymond was right; painfully, annoyingly right.
He had been acting from fear. From guilt. From panic. From the fear of losing her.
