DEAN

The entire ride back to the community was silent. Neither of us spoke a single word.

Not until the car neared Lilith’s villa did she finally break the stillness, her tone polite but distant.

“You can drop me off here. Thanks for the ride.”

I acted as though I hadn’t heard her and drove right past her villa.

Her brows furrowed, following which her voice rose.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said you can drop me off here.”

Only then did I answer calmly, my gaze fixed on the road.

“You can go home later. But first, we need to have a proper talk.”

For some reason, that only...