Tessa’s eyes widened when the word slipped out of Roman’s mouth.

Everything?

It landed between them with a weight he hadn’t planned for, heavier than he liked, sharper than he could explain.

Tessa froze, searching his face like she was trying to tear him open. And for the first time in a long time, he felt exposed.

“What do you mean by that?” she whispered.

Roman’s throat tightened. The answer that he wanted to come out was the wrong one.

So he swallowed it, let the other part of him—the part that had learned how to twist the truth into something else—take over.

“You overthink,” he muttered, forcing a frown...