The car was silent for a moment, save for the low hum of the engine and the occasional sound of traffic passing by. Ava stared out the window, arms folded tightly against her chest, biting the inside of her cheek. The air between them was thick not just from the silence but from the weight of everything that had happened and what had just begun.

She finally turned her head slightly, just enough to look at him from the corner of her eyes.

“I told you I could go by myself,” she muttered, her tone laced with irritation. “You didn’t have to drive me.”

Damien’s hands were loose on the...