I froze.
Christian held my gaze, and after a long, stretched silence, he looked away.
This wasn't his fault.
He'd never asked me to lie to the world. Never asked me to break Henry's heart. He hadn't manipulated or cornered me. Everything that had happened—every decision that blew my life apart—had been mine.
Solely mine.
And he was generous enough to stay away while Henry and I were together. He gave us space. Even protected us when he didn't have to.
This Christian… every time I saw this side of him, I was amazed.
The contrast between the man sitting quietly on my couch, who'd tried to cook just to cheer me up, and the ruthless billionaire who always got his pound of flesh… it was jarring.
And yet, they were the same person.
"I never got to say… thank you." I said softly.
He turned, brows lifted slightly. "For what?"
"For protecting us." I said, avoiding his gaze. "I heard… you were shutting down every article about Henry and me before they were made public."
