The drive home passed in heavy silence.
The city lights blurred past the windows, but Ava barely noticed them. Her hands rested stiffly in her lap, her fingers twisting together as she stared straight ahead. Her cheeks were still warm, flushed from the way Damian had held her hand, from the way his employees' eyes had followed them, from the way he hadn't let go even when he no longer needed to.
She hadn't spoken. Neither had he.
Damian drove with one hand on the steering wheel, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed on the road.
By the time they pulled into the driveway of the estate. Ava had already formed a plan.
Get out of the car. Thank him. Go upstairs. Hide in her room where he wasn't.
It was a good plan. A safe one.
It unraveled the moment they stepped inside.
Charles was waiting in the foyer, his hands folded neatly in front of him, his expression carefully neutral.
"Sir," he said, inclining his head. "You have visitors."
