The office felt unusually quiet, the kind of silence that pressed against her skin. Selena sat in the far corner, her hands folded tightly on her lap, staring at her computer screen but not really seeing it. Her mind was elsewhere, bouncing between her mother and Jace.
Her mother was finally ready to be discharged from the hospital, but Selena had hesitated to leave. She needed to inform Jace. He had a way of making her feel like even the simplest decisions had consequences.
Taking a deep breath, she rose from her chair and approached him. He was at his desk, reviewing files, the faint hum of the office computers filling the background. He didn't look up as she came closer, but Selena could feel his presence like a weight pressing down on her.
"Jace," she said softly.
He looked up then, his gaze sharp and unreadable. "Yes?" His voice was calm, but she could sense the tension coiled beneath it, like a spring ready to snap.
"My mother… she's ready to be discharged. The hospital called. I—" She hesitated, unsure how to continue. "I need to go there. To bring her home."
For a moment, he didn't respond. Then he pushed back his chair, standing slowly. His movement was deliberate, controlled, and it sent a shiver down her spine.
"I could take you," he said quietly, almost reluctantly.
Selena blinked. "You… would?"
"Yes," he admitted, but then he paused.
He sat down back,jaw tightened."You should handle it yourself"
She stared at him, unsure how to read the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to go—she could feel it—but he was holding back. Because he couldn't admit, not even to himself, that he wanted to be the one taking care of her mother.
"I can manage," she said softly, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "I'll handle everything. I just… wanted to let you know."
His eyes softened fractionally, and for a second, the ice around him seemed to crack. But only for a moment. Then the mask returned. "Be careful. Make sure nothing goes wrong."
Selena nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the tension. "I will. Thank you, Jace."
He returned to his desk without another word, and Selena quietly went back to her corner. Her heart was still pounding, a strange mixture of relief and anxiety twisting in her chest.
The hospital felt brighter somehow, though Selena barely noticed. Her focus was entirely on making her mother comfortable. She guided her carefully to the car, her thoughts split between logistics and Jace—how he had been willing to go but restrained himself, how protective he had seemed even in his cold way.
Her mother, weak but smiling, leaned on her arm, grateful and oblivious to the tension threading through Selena's mind. As they drove back to her mother's new apartment, Selena couldn't help but think about Jace, and how much he had taken over her thoughts.
When she returned to the office, her mother safely settled in the new place, she slipped back into her chair, expecting a moment of peace. But Jace was already standing near her desk, leaning slightly against the corner wall. His expression was calm, but the faint tension in his shoulders betrayed him.
"You're back," he said, voice steady.
"Yes," Selena replied, trying to sound casual. "Everything's fine. My mother is settled."
He studied her for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. "You handled it yourself."
"I did," she said, and then added softly, "just like you said."
A flicker of something—approval? —crossed his face, but he quickly masked it. "Good," he said simply.
The silence stretched, heavy and thick, yet strangely intimate. Selena could feel the heat in the space between them, unspoken words simmering in the air.
Jace shifted slightly, leaning closer—not enough to be invasive, but close enough to make her pulse quicken. "You're more capable than you realize," he murmured.
Selena swallowed hard, looking away, focusing on her screen. "I guess…" she whispered.
The air between them was charged, and for a moment, it wasn't just professional tension. It was personal, fiery, unspoken. Neither of them moved, but both felt the weight of it, the electricity of closeness, the awareness of what they couldn't say aloud.
Jace straightened and returned to his desk, though his gaze lingered on her for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Selena felt her chest tighten, realizing that even in the quiet office, in the far corner, he claimed a piece of her attention—whether she wanted it or not.
She exhaled slowly, her mind racing, heart pounding, and for the first time in hours, allowed herself a small, secret smile. She had handled her mother's return. And somehow, she had survived Jace's proximity without breaking completely.
But the fire between them had not died. Not even a little.
And Selena knew, deep down, that it never would.