Jerica should have felt uneasy, especially after Harold's frantic reaction back at the city. The way he had charged toward the car, panic in his eyes—it would have been enough to send anyone into a spiral of fear. But not Jerica.
A calmness had settled over her, unexpected and soothing. There was no fear in her heart, only a quiet certainty that Jared wasn't taking her anywhere to hurt her. If anything, the tension in his silence hinted at something deeper, something that wasn't rooted in malice but in... intention.
Out of reflex, she took a glance at her phone. Harold's messages lit up the screen in a steady stream of texts, each one more desperate than the last. She read the latest:
[Please, talk to me, Jeri. Where is he taking you?]
But she sighed and swiped it away, ignoring him completely. Harold had been part of her past, and right now, the only thing that mattered was the man beside her, steering them both into the unknown.
