Despite the exhaustion, her lips twitched slightly. Ever since that night, Silas had returned to his usual infuriating self—but with a strange tenderness tucked beneath the mischief.
He still greeted her with that obnoxiously wide grin whenever he came home from the office, still made sarcastic remarks when she walked past him in the hallway.
Avery flipped over, staring at the ceiling with a weary, conflicted sigh. "Why does he still smile like that?" she mumbled. "Like a puppy that knows it just chewed your shoe and still expects a belly rub."
The moment of peace didn't last.
Just as she closed her eyes to steal a few minutes of rest, she heard the familiar sound of footfalls—light, unhurried, and most annoyingly confident—approaching her room.
"Aveeeeryyy!" Silas's voice rang through the corridor like a warning siren.
