Chapter 70. A Line Blurred

Avery’s POV

The tension between Julian and me was suffocating.

It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, we had talked easily, laughed over drinks, and teased each other with the kind of effortless familiarity that came from unspoken understanding. But that was before I knew who he really was, before I realized how complicated everything between us had become.

Before I acknowledged how much I wanted him.

I had done my best to resist him. Every time he lingered too close, every time his gaze burned into me with an intensity I couldn’t ignore, I reminded myself of the truth; he was Amelia’s fiancé. He belonged to someone else.

But Julian had a way of making that fact seem irrelevant.

He didn’t push me, didn’t force anything, but he was always there. When exhaustion dragged at my bones, when the weight of leadership felt unbearable, Julian offered what no one else could; quiet, steady reassurance.

He never doubted me, never questioned