Page 125 of I See You

“Good. Be safe,” Sevyn said softly, already turning toward the bathroom. “Just take the elevator down to the lobby.”

She knew that was all she’d get out of him—maybe ever. But just before she disappeared behind the door, Hassan reached out and caught her hand. Gently. Pulled her back to him.

Her palm landed on his chest for balance, and she looked up, those beautiful brown eyes locking with his. His heart thudded in his chest—hard. Too damn hard. And he hated that.

“Thanks for last night,” he said, his voice still cold, like it always was, but his eyes… his eyes gave him away. There was softness there. A flicker of something warmer than he ever let show.

Sevyn gave him a small smile and nodded. “No problem. Just doing my job.”

The words hit a nerve.

He didn’t flinch, but inside, it stung. He knew she still saw himas her patient. That was her boundary. But she was already so much more than just a therapist to him—even if he couldn’t say it, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself.

Somehow, she felt it. She always did.

“You’re more to me than my patient, Hassan,” she said suddenly, and his chest tightened. “I’ll probably never be your friend… but you’re mine.”

Her wide smile made it sound like a joke, but it wasn’t. And that unspoken truth in her words? It hit him harder than he expected.

A chuckle slipped out of him, low and brief. He didn’t respond— not with words—but her warmth stayed with him.

How the fuck she do that creepy-ass shit?he thought, eyes narrowing.

No matter how much he tried to stay unreadable, Sevyn always saw straight through him—and that shit was starting to mess with his head.

“Bye, Sevyn,” he said, stepping back before he did something stupid… like stay.

“Bye, friend!” she teased, her voice light, playful. That familiar goofiness he was starting to look forward to.

He shook his head, trying not to smile, and turned to leave—but her voice stopped him at the door.

“You don’t want a hug for the road?” she asked, grinning. He turned, deadpan. “Yo ass just wanna hug me.”

“And don’t act like you don’t like it,” she shot back, bold as ever. He didn’t argue. Couldn’t.

Hewalkedbacktoher,andwhenherarmswrappedaround him again, he melted into it—just for a second. Just long enough to remember what peace felt like. When they finally pulled apart, he turned without a word and left her room, made his way down the stairs, and stepped into the elevator headed to the lobby.

By the time the doors closed, everything he felt upstairs started to slip away. The warmth. The peace. The safeness. It all faded the moment he left her—and the weight of his real life came rushing back like a tidal wave.

After stopping by his place to shower and throw on fresh clothes, Hassan hit the highway, speeding toward the hospital. The weight on his chest hadn’t let up—not even a little. Everything was piling up: the case, Jules' warning, the ghosts clawing their way out of his past.

But through all that noise… one person kept clouding his mind. Sevyn.

The way she looked at him—like she didn’t see the monster everyone else swore he was. The way she spoke to him, soft and smooth,likehervoicewasmadetosoothethedarkestpartsof him. And the way she understood him, every broken piece, without judgment… it made his heart thump in a way he wasn’t built for.

She reminded him of someone he’d sworn he’d never compare anyone to.

His mother. Kristi.

It was in the small things—her smile, the gentleness in her tone, the way she made him feel like maybe, just maybe, he was still good. His mother used to tell him that. Used to look at him like he was her greatest creation, even when he was getting into fights at school or challenging his father’s wrath. Her voice was always soft. Always safe.

She was his angel.

And the night she was taken from him—shot in cold blood because of the man she loved—Hassan swore he died with her. His soul cracked in ways he never recovered from.

He buried those feelings. Dug a grave and threw them in. Vowed never to feel that kind of attachment again. Never let anyone close enough to hurt him the way her death had.

But now? Now he had Sevyn.

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