(Amelia Carter's POV)
Amelia didn't speak immediately when they got back inside.
She walked ahead of him, her steps not fast, but not slow either. Just… steady. Like she was holding something in and hadn't decided yet what to do with it.
Ethan closed the door behind them.
The sound echoed more than it should have.
She stopped. Turned. And this time, she didn't look away.
"You knew."
Her voice wasn't loud but it wasn't soft either.
It sat somewhere in between–controlled, but holding something underneath.
Ethan met her gaze.
"I had an idea."
Amelia let out a quiet breath, almost like a short laugh, but there was no humor in it.
"An idea?" she repeated.
Her arms folded slightly, not defensively, but like she needed something to hold onto.
"They knew who I was," she continued. "They said it. They were looking for me."
Ethan didn't interrupt.
Didn't try to explain immediately.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Amelia shook her head slightly.
"And you still let me walk out there like nothing was wrong."
"I didn't let you," he said calmly. "You left."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's not the point."
"No," he agreed. "It isn't."
That caught her off guard.
Just for a second.
She stared at him, like she expected him to argue more, to push back–but he didn't.
That only made the tension shift.
"Then what is the point?" she asked.
Ethan stepped a little closer. Not enough to crowd her but just enough to make his presence felt.
"That you're not safe on your own," he said.
The words were simple.
But they landed harder than she expected.
Amelia looked away briefly, her jaw tightening.
"I figured that out already."
Silence settled for a moment.
Then she looked back at him.
"And you knew this was coming," she said. "Don't try to deny it."
"I'm not."
That made her pause.
Her brows pulled together slightly.
"You're just… admitting it?" she asked.
"Yes."
No hesitation. No excuse.
Amelia blinked, clearly not expecting that.
"Why?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ethan studied her for a moment before answering.
"Because knowing wouldn't have changed anything."
"That's not true."
"It is."
Her frustration slipped through then.
"You don't get to decide that for me."
Ethan's gaze didn't waver.
"I do if it keeps you alive."
The words hung between them.
Amelia went quiet. Not because she agreed but because she didn't have an immediate response.
Her chest rose slightly as she exhaled, her thoughts shifting again.
"You keep saying things like that," she said more quietly now. "Like I'm supposed to just accept it."
Ethan didn't move.
"Not accept it," he said. "Understand it."
Amelia let out a slow breath.
"I don't understand anything," she admitted.
That was the first honest thing she had said without resistance.
And it changed something.
Ethan noticed.
She could tell.
He stepped closer this time.
Amelia didn't move back.
"I know," he said.
His voice was quieter now.
Amelia looked up at him, her expression softer but still unsettled.
"Then explain it," she said.
There was no anger in it now.
Just a quiet demand.
Ethan's hand lifted slightly.
Paused.
Like he was giving her time to pull away.
She didn't.
His fingers brushed lightly against her arm.
"You're in danger," he said. "And you've been in danger longer than you think."
Amelia swallowed slightly.
"And my parents?"
The question came out softer than she intended.
Ethan's expression shifted.
"They tried to stop it," he said.
Her chest tightened.
"Stop what?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
And that silence–
It said more than words.
Amelia looked at him, searching his face.
"You're still not telling me everything," she said.
"No," he replied.
At least he was honest.
Amelia exhaled slowly, her frustration not gone, but quieter now.
Her gaze dropped briefly to where his hand still rested lightly against her arm.
She hadn't noticed when she stopped pulling away.
"You don't trust me," she said.
Ethan's voice came just as steady.
"I do."
She looked up at him again.
"Then why does it feel like you don't?"
A pause.
Then–
"Because I don't trust anyone else."
The answer was simple.
But it shifted something.
Amelia's expression softened slightly, her thoughts slowing.
"That's not the same thing," she said.
"No," he agreed. "It isn't."
Silence followed again.
Amelia exhaled quietly, her shoulders relaxing just a little.
"I don't like this," she admitted.
"I know."
"I don't like not knowing what's going on."
"I know."
She looked at him for a moment longer.
Then, quietly–
"But I don't feel unsafe when you're around."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Ethan's gaze held hers.
Something in his expression changed.
Subtly. But deeply.
"You won't be," he said.
Not a promise.
Something stronger.