Chapter 171. You’re My Center

Love’s POV

“You’re brooding,” David said softly.

His voice cut through the fog in my head, gentle but observant, the way it always was when he sensed I was drifting somewhere he couldn’t follow. I hadn’t even realized I was staring at the same line of text on my screen for the past five minutes, my thoughts looping endlessly in circles.

He took a few steps toward my desk, his polished shoes quiet against the floor, his presence filling the room in a way that felt both familiar and heavy.

“Ellis, we—”

The name slipped out before I could stop it.

The instant it did, I bit my tongue hard, the sharp sting grounding me as panic flared in my chest. The room seemed to freeze around us. David stopped mid-step, his entire body going rigid.