Chapter 147
Elena's POV
I turned to face him, my pulse still racing from the call I'd just ended. Caleb's eyes were like a bottomless frozen pool—hollow on the surface, but I could see the tension coiled through his shoulders, the way his jaw locked tight.
"I'm with you because I want to be," I said, forcing the words out before I lost my nerve. "Not because I'm trying to get back at him."
His gaze didn't shift. After a long moment, he spoke, voice low and flat. "A lot of things aren't proved by talking."
My throat tightened. I wanted to argue, to insist I meant it, but his expression stopped me. He looked like someone who'd heard every promise in the world and believed none of them.
"I've been on my own a long time," he said quietly. "It's hard to trust anyone will stay."
The words landed heavy between us. I felt my chest constrict, recognizing the weight of what he wasn't saying.
"Maybe if you're still here in ten years," he continued, his tone deliberately even. "Twenty. Maybe when my hair goes gray and you're still standing next to me, I won't have to worry about you leaving."
My eyes burned. He wasn't asking for reassurance. He was admitting he didn't know how to believe in one.
I crossed the space between us in three strides and wrapped my arms around him. He went rigid under my touch, every muscle locked up like he'd forgotten how to accept comfort.
"Ten years," I whispered against his chest. "Twenty. A whole lifetime. I'll always be here. When we're done, I want to be buried next to you."
For a second, nothing changed. Then, slowly, his body began to soften. His arms came up, hesitant at first, then tightening around me with a careful kind of desperation. Like he was afraid I'd vanish if he held on too hard—or let go at all.
We stayed like that, wrapped in each other, until the sound of footsteps broke the moment.
"Caleb, I—oh. Shit."
I pulled back just as Hector appeared in the doorway, freezing mid-step when he saw us. His eyes flicked between me and Caleb, his expression caught somewhere between surprise and poorly concealed amusement.
Caleb had already put distance between us, his face slipping back into that unreadable mask.
Hector glanced at me again, something unreadable flickering across his face, but he didn't comment. Just shrugged and headed toward the kitchen.
I stayed rooted in place, watching Caleb return to his desk, the hollow ache of interruption settling in my chest.
---
Later, after Caleb had started his video meeting in the office, I found myself alone with Hector in the living room. He was sprawled on the couch, scrolling through his phone with a sour expression.
I hesitated, then sat on the far end. "What happened with your date?"
He snorted, not looking up. "She decided I wasn't worth the trouble. Guess that's going around."
I didn't know what to say to that. The silence stretched between us, awkward and heavy.
"Why do you even have a key to this place?" I asked finally.
Hector glanced at me, something sharp in his eyes. "Because when you weren't around, someone had to make sure he didn't kill himself."
I froze. "What?"
"He was drinking himself unconscious every night," Hector said bluntly. "Wouldn't eat. Barely slept. I moved in because I was scared he'd choke on his own vomit or pass out and never wake up."
The words hit like a slap. My stomach twisted, guilt flooding through me so fast I felt dizzy.
"That was after you turned him down, by the way," Hector added, his tone cold. "After you chose to go through with that engagement to Damon. He damn near destroyed himself."
I couldn't breathe. I remembered that text I'd sent—the one where I'd told him it was over.
"Look," he said, leaning forward. "I don't know what your deal is. Maybe you're confused. Maybe you're rebounding. But if you're not serious about him—if you're just here because it's convenient—you need to walk away now. He needs a girl whose heart and eyes are full of him, someone who'll give him everything."
"I am serious," I said, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.
Hector raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"
"Yes." The word burst out of me, louder than I meant. "I am. He's mine, okay? And no one gets to take him away from me."
Hector stared at me, clearly taken aback by the sudden vehemence in my tone. I was a little shocked myself. But the idea of another girl—any other girl—getting close to Caleb made something feral rise up in my chest.
"So don't even think about introducing him to other girls," I added, crossing my arms. "Because it's not happening."
Hector's expression shifted, something almost like approval flickering across his face. But before he could respond, Caleb appeared in the doorway.
"What are you two arguing about?" he asked, his voice calm but his eyes sharp.
I didn't hesitate. "I'm moving in. Right now."
I'm not waiting anymore. I'm moving in now.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I hadn't planned to act this quickly, but Hector's threat had lit something in me, some primal need to stake my claim and make it clear I wasn't going anywhere.
If I lived here, Hector couldn't set him up with anyone else. If I lived here, Caleb would know I meant it.