Chapter 95. The Weight of It

Hermes POV

I walk away before anyone notices the tremor in my hand. To them, I’m the CEO giving a clean lecture on balance and trust, but inside—fuck.

Her face. That look when I asked if she trusted me. Christ. It was the same look she gave me that night, back in the hotel, when she whispered I was her first.

Her first. Me.

And I walked out on her like a coward, and I avoided her as though she was a fire I couldn’t control. Because the second those words left her mouth, I felt… responsible, and I don’t fucking do responsible. This was supposed to be simple. A casual fuck, not a first. I was supposed to be some man to her, not the man.

But then—then I saw her with that HR guy, hugging him, and smiling like she hadn’t just torn me open the night before.

Fuck. I couldn’t ignore the sting of it— I couldn’t breathe for a second. She hands me her confession, and I carry the weight of it, while she’s out there laughing, touching, hugging like it’s