#Chapter 143: The Last of Darius

Amelia “I’m fine,” I said for the third time that morning. Richard didn’t look up from the file in his hand. “You’re fidgeting so hard the whole table’s vibrating.” I stilled my leg. “It’s just nerves. This is the first time I’ve been face-to-face with Darius since the attack.” He finally glanced at me, eyes scanning my face like he was measuring every flicker of my expression. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “Don’t look at me like that.” “I’m not looking at you like anything.” “You think I’m still… affected.” “I think you haven’t given yourself a second to breathe.” “I’m breathing fine.” “You barely slept last night. You’ve been twitching through every briefing. And you’ve touched me more times this morning than you did all last month combined.” I stared at him, caught somewhere between wanting to defend myself and wanting to throw something. “I’m trying to feel normal again,” I said. “Isn’t that what you want?” “I want you to stop pretending t