Chapter Seventy-Four: The Answers He Won’t Give

Chloe

The silence stretched for just a little too long.

Not awkward.

Not uncomfortable.

Just—heavy.

Like something lingered beneath Kian's calm exterior, something he wasn't saying.

Something Chloe noticed.

She wasn't supposed to care.

Wasn't supposed to ask.

Wasn't supposed to look at him now, catching the flicker of something unreadable in his expression, something too fleeting to name.

But she did.

And that?

That frustrated her.

So—she pushed.

"What about you?"

Kian didn't turn his head right away.

Didn't react the way she expected.

Instead, he smirked slightly, his voice effortlessly teasing.

"Curious now?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat. "Don't deflect."

He chuckled softly, tilting his head slightly, eyes still focused on the road.

"Fine. I was busy. Business took most of my time."

Smooth.

Simple.

Too simple.

Chloe knew better.

Knew there was something else.

Knew he was choosing not to say it.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "That's it?"

Kian smirked. "What else would you like to hear?"

She huffed lightly, leaning back. "I don't know. Maybe something real."

His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel.

Not impatiently.

Just deliberately.

Then—he shifted.

Away from himself.

Away from the answers he refused to give.

"How did you meet Kevin?"

Chloe stiffened.

Her breath clipped just slightly.

Because just like that—Kian had turned the conversation away from himself, back to her, back to a past she wasn't sure she wanted to discuss.

And now?

Now she had no choice but to answer.