My thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the office door behind me. Curiosity tugged at me, and before I knew it, my feet were carrying me toward it.
The room smelled of old paper and faint traces of coffee. Files were stacked neatly on a wooden desk, but one folder caught my attention—it was thicker than the rest, its label marked with bold, red ink: CONFIDENTIAL.
“Tiffany.”
His voice froze me in place. Slowly, I turned to find Nathaniel standing in the doorway, his gaze unreadable.
“What are you doing?”
My pulse quickened, but I forced myself to stay calm. “I was just... looking around.”
“In a locked office?”
His tone was dangerously soft. I hadn’t even realized I’d crossed a boundary until now.
“I thought—”
“Don’t.”
He stepped closer, and for the first time, I felt the weight of his presence. The man who had been gentle with the children now loomed over me, his shadow swallowing the room.
“There are things in this world, Tiffany, that you don’t want to understand,” he said, his voice low and measured.
My heart pounded as he reached past me, his hand brushing mine as he locked the file drawer. The click echoed like a judge’s gavel.