Chapter 67. The Silence Between Us

Vanessa's POV

I woke up with swollen eyes and a headache pounding behind them like war drums.

My pillow was damp—an imprint of the tears I couldn’t hold back and the questions I never got answers to. Sleep had barely touched me. My body ached like it had endured some invisible punishment, and my mind kept circling back to last night. A repetition of that moment.

Except in none of those versions did I say yes.

I said no.

And then I ran.

A small part of me was relieved to find the room empty. I couldn’t stomach facing him. Not yet. The shame clung to me like a second skin, one I couldn’t peel off.

Why me? Why would someone like him—arrogant, cruel, unreadable—feel anything for someone like me? I mean, he didn’t act like I was worth a girl to him. Last I knew, he’d always thought I was a dummy and never failed to make me feel like one.

He had tormented me for so long, made me question everything about myself. So was this