“No.”
“Elena—”
“I appreciate what you’ve done. I really do. But I can’t keep accepting things from you.”
“Why?”
The question stopped me.
“Because I met you three hours ago.”
“That’s a reason to be cautious. It isn’t a reason to refuse a safe room.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
I looked at him.
There was no irritation in his voice.
No challenge.
He genuinely wanted to know.
So I told him the truth.
“Because every generous thing Ethan ever did eventually appeared on an invisible list.”
Adrian said nothing.
I continued.
“He paid my student loans after we got married. Whenever we argued, it became proof I should be grateful.”
My voice shook slightly.
“He helped my mother replace her roof. Three years later, when I wanted to go back to work full-time, he reminded me that he had supported my family.”
