The Way We Pretend

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 14:17:15 +0000

The storm raged outside, but the real damage was happening inside the cabin.

For months, their dynamic has been defined by resentment, longing, and Liam Hale’s infuriating silence. She knows the truth: being trapped with Mr. Calm-and-Quiet-and-Emotionally-Inaccessible is a terrible idea. Liam, the man who treats her with professional distance one day and looks at her like she’s his only air the next, has spent too long giving her only "crumbs."

Now, the roads are sealed by snow, the power is flickering, and the walls are closing in. There is no escape. The fragile, painful veneer of professionalism is violently ripped away as she finally demands the truth, and he explodes, confessing a want that is reckless, desperate, and potentially ruinous.

Tonight, the quiet line they both spent years protecting shatters. The fight they were having was never against each other, but against the agonizing, unbearable truth:
They can’t be around each other without wanting everything