Chapter 17: Stop avoiding me.

The house was too still that night, the kind of stillness that pressed against the walls and seemed to listen. Selina moved through it like a ghost, the hem of her nightdress whispering across the floorboards. The clock in the hall had just struck midnight, each chime echoing like a pulse she couldn’t calm. Her husband had gone to bed early after a tense dinner, claiming exhaustion. But she knew Nathan well enough to recognize pretense. He was never tired, only watchful.

She poured herself a glass of water and lingered by the window. The moonlight spilled over the garden, turning the roses silver. Somewhere beyond the hedges, she knew Karl would be tending to his tools or pacing restlessly, the way he did when something weighed on his mind. The thought made her chest tighten. Every look from him lately carried a question he was afraid to ask aloud.

She turned away from the window, only to freeze as a faint sound came from the far end of the corridor. Footsteps. Measured. Familiar. Her breath caught until she saw Alan’s silhouette step from the shadows.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, setting her glass down.

Alan’s voice was low. “Neither should you be awake.”

He came closer, stopping just within the reach of light. His hair was tousled, his shirt half-buttoned, and there was that same calm mischief in his eyes, the look that had both terrified and drawn her in from the start.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said.

“I’ve been careful,” she replied. “There’s a difference.”

“Careful,” he repeated, almost amused. “That’s what people say when they’re afraid of getting caught, not when they’ve decided to stop.”

Her pulse quickened. “You don’t understand. Nathan’s, ”

“Suspicious,” Alan finished for her. “He’s always suspicious. It’s his favorite hobby.”

Selina frowned. “This isn’t a game.”

He stepped closer, his tone softening. “I never said it was. But you and I, we’ve gone too far to turn back now.”

She felt the truth of it in her bones. Every secret glance, every whispered exchange in the dark, it had built something alive between them, something reckless and unstoppable.

“Alan, please,” she said quietly. “If he finds out, ”

“He won’t,” he interrupted, lowering his voice. “Not if you trust me.”

She shook her head. “You keep saying that, but trust isn’t what you want.”

“And what do I want?”

“To win,” she said. “You treat everything like a game to prove you can’t lose. But this, this will destroy us both if you keep pushing.”

Alan studied her for a long moment, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. Then he smiled, the kind of slow, deliberate smile that carried both challenge and charm.

“Maybe destruction’s the only way to start again,” he murmured.

Before she could respond, a noise came from outside, a faint thud, like a door closing. Alan turned toward the sound, tense. Selina moved to the window again and caught sight of movement in the garden. A figure standing by the hedge.

Karl.

He was watching them.

Alan followed her gaze, his jaw tightening. “He’s still out there?”

“He doesn’t know you’re here,” Selina whispered, panic rising. “He’s probably, ”

“Spying,” Alan cut in. “Just like your husband. Seems you attract men who can’t stop watching you.”

“That’s not fair,” she said sharply.

“Isn’t it?” His tone darkened. “He looks at you like he owns you, Selina. Maybe he’s forgotten who gave him this job.”

“Don’t start,” she warned, but Alan was already striding toward the door.

“Alan!” she hissed, grabbing his arm. “If Nathan wakes, ”

“He won’t,” Alan said without looking back. “But Karl will learn to mind his place.”

She pulled harder, desperate now. “Please. You’ll make things worse.”

Alan stopped, turning to her. His expression softened, though his eyes still burned with anger. “You’re protecting him. Why?”

“Because I don’t want anyone hurt,” she said. “Not him. Not you. Not, ”

“Nathan?” Alan’s voice turned cold.

She swallowed hard, unable to answer.

Alan studied her, and for a fleeting moment she saw jealousy break through his calm. “You think you can keep balancing us all, but you can’t. Sooner or later, someone will fall.”

He tore his gaze away and stepped back. “Go to bed, Selina. Before you say something you can’t take back.”

He disappeared into the hallway’s shadow, leaving her alone with her trembling hands and the weight of everything unsaid. She leaned against the wall, her breath shaky. The moonlight made the world too sharp, every sound, every flicker of movement outside.

Karl was still by the hedge.

Against her better judgment, she grabbed a shawl and slipped through the side door, crossing the lawn barefoot. The night air bit against her skin, but her mind was too loud to feel the cold. When she reached the garden, Karl stepped out from behind the rosebush.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” she whispered.

“Neither should he,” Karl said, voice low, rough.

She froze. “You saw him?”

“I see everything that happens around this house,” he said. “You think the walls don’t talk, but they do. I’ve heard the whispers. I’ve seen the lights.”

Her heart pounded. “Karl, ”

He looked at her, hurt clouding his expression. “Tell me something, Selina. What is he to you? The truth.”

She hesitated, words catching like thorns in her throat. “It’s complicated.”

“It always is,” he said bitterly. “I thought I meant something to you. But every time I look up, he’s there. Watching you. Owning you.”

Her voice softened. “No one owns me.”

“Doesn’t he?” Karl took a step closer. “Because it looks that way from here.”

She shook her head, unable to meet his gaze. “You don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Then help me understand,” he said, his tone cracking. “Because I can’t keep pretending it doesn’t drive me mad, seeing him near you.”

She reached for his arm, but he flinched back. The distance between them felt heavier than any wall.

“I didn’t mean for any of this,” she said. “None of it.”

Karl’s eyes softened briefly. “I know. But that doesn’t change what it’s become.”

They stood in silence, the garden around them alive with the quiet hum of night. Somewhere inside the house, a door creaked. Selina stiffened.

Nathan.

Her pulse raced. “You have to go,” she whispered. “Now.”

Karl hesitated, then turned toward the shadows, his voice low. “Be careful with him, Selina. He’s not like your husband. He’s worse.”

She wanted to ask what he meant, but he was already gone.

When she slipped back into the house, the air felt heavier, charged. She climbed the stairs slowly, her bare feet silent against the carpet. The door to Nathan’s study was ajar, light spilling across the floor. She stopped, heart hammering.

Inside, Nathan stood with his back to her, phone in hand.

“No, don’t delete it,” he was saying quietly. “Forward it to me first.” A pause. “Yes. The message thread from the unknown number.”

Selina’s blood ran cold.

He turned then, catching sight of her in the doorway. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She forced her voice steady. “No. I heard something outside.”

“Strange,” he said, slipping the phone into his pocket. “I thought I heard something too.”

He walked toward her, the faintest smile on his lips. “You really should lock the doors at night. Too many things wandering about in the dark.”

Her throat felt dry. “I will.”

Nathan studied her, then nodded as if satisfied. “Good. Wouldn’t want anyone sneaking around the garden, would we?”

She managed a small smile, but inside she was shaking.

“Goodnight, Selina,” he said, his tone polite but sharp at the edges.

“Goodnight,” she whispered, backing away.

She returned to her room and shut the door softly, pressing her back against it. Her mind reeled. Nathan had the messages, Alan’s messages. Somehow, he’d gotten them.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, and she almost screamed at the sound. The screen lit up with a new text.

Alan: He knows.

Her fingers trembled as she typed.

Selina: How?

The reply came almost instantly.

Alan: He’s reading everything. We’re not safe.

Selina’s breath caught. She looked toward the hallway where Nathan’s footsteps were fading, steady and unhurried. The man she’d thought was simply suspicious was now several steps ahead, and she had no idea how much he already knew.

Outside, the wind brushed through the roses, whispering through the leaves like secrets.

And in the stillness that followed, Selina realized the walls weren’t just listening anymore. They were speaking.