His jaw tightened. He wasn't used to this version of me. He didn't know what to do with silence.
I stepped forward and stopped in front of his desk, the air between us thick with tension and a thousand unsaid things. He sat back, watching me with narrowed eyes, waiting.
I didn't let myself breathe as I spoke.
"I need your help."
The words cut deeper than I expected. Each one felt like a blade carving out a piece of whatever was left of me.
Kael didn't move. He studied me.
"What's going on?," he said, voice low.
And just like that, it was time to spill it all.
I took a slow breath.
My chest felt tight, like the words were locked behind ribs that didn't want to move. But I forced them out anyway. One by one. Ugly. Humbling. Necessary.
"My sister… her husband…" I paused, staring somewhere over Kael's shoulder, afraid that if I looked him in the eye, I'd choke. "Michael. He borrowed money from the wrong people."
Still no reaction. Just that same, unreadable mask.
