The line Vanessa drew did not vanish when the words ended.
It stayed in the room.
Not visible, not loud, but present in the way both of them held themselves afterward, in the slight distance that had not been there before, in the silence that no longer felt neutral but measured.
Vanessa stood by the window again, though this time she wasn't looking outside.
Her reflection stared back at her.
Still composed.
Still controlled.
But there was something in her eyes she couldn't ignore.
Not fear.
Not uncertainty.
Something heavier.
Disappointment.
And she hated that more than anything else.
Because disappointment meant expectation.
And expectation meant she had trusted something to be different.
Behind her, she could feel Gale's presence without turning.
He hadn't moved far.
Hadn't left.
But he hadn't tried to close the distance either.
For once, he wasn't controlling the space between them.
He was respecting it.
And that made everything more complicated.
