Amara watched him. She had her hands folded in her lap, and her posture was still, composed, the way it always was when she was gauging how something would land.
Then she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward slightly.
"Listen," she said, and her voice dropped just a little, not low enough to be a confession, but low enough to mean she was being serious.
"I didn't mean to hide it. I swear to you, Julian, that was never the intention." She held his gaze.
"I just. I needed to get through this. Deal with this problem properly, on my own terms. And now especially…" She paused, and something passed over her face. Something quieter than everything else that had been sitting in the room.
"Now I'll use it if I have to. If he ever tries to take our baby from me. I'll burn everything down with it if I have to."
The last words came out steady. Not dramatic. Just true.
