Ste lowered her eyes. "I''m sorry. Haynes is Keen''s father. It''s impossible for us not to see each other."


    The air grew thick with tension.


    In the quiet room, the only sound was his increasingly ragged breathing.


    Ste pushed against him, intending to step away.


    Instead, he suddenly cupped the back of her head and crashed his lips down onto hers.


    His kiss carried a punishing intensity,nding heavily and frantically across her face and neck.


    Ste could even feel a sharp sting of pain.


    She dodged and struggled repeatedly, but she was no match for him at all.


    With just one hand, he effortlessly pinned both of her wrists.


    His body felt like solid rock, impossible to budge.


    Joshua had never been rough with her, and he had certainly never forced himself on her like this.


    Right now, he had ripped away his everyday disguise, acting so unfamiliar that it sent a spike of fear through her heart.


    Laurel was right; he usually hid it entirely too well.


    Sometimes, she even convinced herself he wasn''t sick, that he waspletely normal.


    Even if he had issues, she believed they were manageable.


    But in this moment, she truly felt the terrifying extent of his loss of control.


    Perhaps his condition was far worse than she had assumed, and even worse than Laurel had described.


    Just then, a sudden wave of nausea rolled violently through her stomach, and she furrowed her brow in difort.


    "Let me go," she gasped weakly.


    Sensing her distress, he froze.


    The next second, she shoved him away with all her strength and sprinted toward the bathroom.


    He stood stunned for a moment before hurrying after her.


    Pale and shaking, Ste vomited violently over the sink.


    He reached out to support her, but his touch only made her heave harder.


    He froze mid-reach.


    When she finally stopped, she


    Eso he was still standing there


    eyes so dare et


    at her with


    were terrifying.


    "Star, do I disgust you?"


    She knew he had misunderstood, but she had absolutely no intention of exining herself.


    "Get out," she murmured. "I need a shower."


    He instinctively reached for her hand, but she pulled away.


    She looked at him. "Do you want to make me throw up again?"


    His movements halted entirely, a sh of deep hurt crossing his eyes.


    A few secondster, he turned and walked away.


    ...


    Ste refused to sleep in the same room as him, so he was forced to stay in the guest room.


    The next morning, she headed out right after breakfast.


    He offered to go with her, but she turned him down.


    Perhaps afraid of pushing her


    further away, he didn''t follow her. He


    simply stood at the door, his gaze


    dark and unreadable as he watched Her leave.


    Even when her car was a long distance away, she could still see his figure lingering


    by the entrance.


    For some reason, a sudden, ominous feeling crept into her heart.


    Sure enough, her premonition quickly became reality.


    She was only halfway to her destination when Keen called.


    "Mom, where are you right now?"


    "I''m still on the road. It''ll probably take another fifteen minutes," she replied.


    Keen''s voice was small and tight.


    "Mom, Dad got hurt. He''s at the


    Preated right now!


    hospital getting


    don''think we can go to the park today."


    Her expression shifted. "Hurt? How did he suddenly get hurt?"


    "A car lost control and hit him," Keen sniffled.


    Her eyes darkened. "Is it serious? Wait, did you get hurt?"