CHAPTER 56: Consumed Me More!

I couldn’t shake the sense that something was off. Killian had been quieter than usual, his gaze distant even when we sat side by side. His words, when they came, felt like placeholders for thoughts he wouldn’t—or couldn’t—share. Every glance told me he was keeping something from me.

I didn’t need to ask why there were men stationed outside our house, their figures half-hidden among the shadows of the trees. The last incident had rattled him. He was being careful, protective as always and I totally understand it.

“Killian,” I murmured, my fingers brushing the cool surface of the window, “Can I go outside? Just for some air?”

He looked up from his laptop, his eyes softening as they met mine. For a moment, his guard slipped, the edges of his face relaxing. “Alright,” he said, closing the laptop with a quiet snap.

He stood from the couch, moving with the silent precision that had become his second nature. Killian always accompanied me now, shadowing my steps, his presence like an unspo