The TV still flickered in the background,  

light and shadow dancing across the walls,  

but neither of them was watching.  

Sienna was still lying against Evan’s lap,  

her eyes half-closed, her voice quiet—  

almost careless, but sharp enough to pierce through the calm.  

“Do you not care what I do for work?”  

The question fell soft as a whisper,  

yet it hit like a blade.  

Evan froze.  

His mind went blank.  

He knew this was the question she’d been circling all along.  

Last night’s kiss,  

this morning’s distance,  

the strange closeness now—  

they all led back here.  

His chest tightened.  

Words caught in his throat.  

“…I—”  

Reality wasn’t kind.  

Her world—the hotel, the late nights, the charm she wore like armor—  

it wasn’t something you could define as *good* or *bad*.  

It simply *was*.  

He worked by day; she lived by night.  

Their worlds never touched except in moments like this.  

Day and night—  

forever chasing, never meeting.  

He lowered his gaze,  

staring at his clenched hands.  

Images flashed through his head:  

her laughing with clients,  

the way she poured drinks without missing a beat,  

her calm mask,  

her distance.  

He could hardly breathe.  

Sienna said nothing more.  

She just stared at the ceiling, face unreadable,  

as if the silence itself was already her reply.  

The space between them—  

visible now, heavy, inescapable.  

Then Evan looked up.  

His eyes were red,  

but his voice was steady when he spoke.  

“If there’s ever a day,” he began slowly,  

“when I can change things…”  

He swallowed hard.  

“I’ll make sure you never have to live like that again.”  

“No more pretending, no more smiling for people you don’t care about.”  

Sienna’s eyes flicked toward him—  

still calm,  

but for an instant, they softened.  

He held her gaze, refusing to back down.  

“I know I can’t do it now,” he said quietly.  

“But I’ll keep working for it.”  

“Maybe I’ll fail. Maybe all this will disappear before I even start.”  

He took a shaky breath.  

“But it’s still what I want—to make it real.”  

When he finished,  

his whole body felt hollowed out.  

His palms were slick with sweat.  

He didn’t know if she’d believe him,  

but at least he’d said what mattered.  

Sienna studied him for a long moment.  

Then her lips curved—  

a small, tired smile,  

but not a cruel one.  

“You…” she murmured,  

voice soft, unreadable.  

Then she closed her eyes again,  

nestling closer into his lap,  

as if that alone were her reply.  

Evan sat frozen,  

his heartbeat loud in his ears.  

And yet, amid the ache and the uncertainty,  

a warmth bloomed quietly inside him.  

Maybe their worlds were still far apart.  

But tonight,  

for the first time,  

she hadn’t shut him out.