Dane's POV
The door opened, revealing Hailee in nothing but a shirt… her red hair dripping water like she'd just stepped out of the shower. Our eyes locked, and she froze—terror flashing across her face, as if I was the last person in the world she expected to see standing there. My chest clenched, a bitter weight pressing down on me. I knew that look. I'd seen it before. It was the look of someone hiding something.
"Hailee," I said slowly, my voice low, careful, though I could hear the pain creeping in, "you weren't expecting me."
She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening on the edge of the door as if she needed to hold onto something to stay upright. Her lips parted, but no words came out right away. That silence… it burned like acid in my chest.
The silence between us stretched, thick and suffocating. My chest tightened more with every second she kept her lips sealed.
I drew in a sharp breath, forcing the words out. "Were you at the mansion last night?"
