Lily's hand stung from the slap.

Leo didn't flinch.

He stared at her, his cheek reddened, but his expression unreadable. Something behind his eyes shifted—like a switch being flipped, but the lights only got darker.

The silence stretched long and thin between them, coiled like a snake.

Then, finally, he stepped back.

Two steps. Three. A slow retreat, like a lion deciding not to strike—for now.

He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed. Just once. A quiet, hollow thing.

“You really are going to make this harder than it needs to be,” he said.

Lily stayed against the wall, her breath shallow,...