Page 139 of I See You

“So did you forgive her?” Hassan asked, his voice flat but sharp.

Sevyn shot him a look, her mug speaking louder than words. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

He studied her for a second, seeing the shift in her eyes, the way her voice barely held steady. Whatever happened at that brunch, she wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet. And even if she tried, it would’ve shattered her.

Hassan nodded once, and didn’t push again.

But the silence between them carried more weight than either of them expected.

They drifted into lighter conversation after that. Sevyn openedup about her upbringing a little—stories about her childhood, her parents, her goal of opening her own clinic. They laughed over bites of food and soft glances toward Jada, who was laughing with her teammates, carefree in a way Sevyn prayed would stick with her.

Sevyn glanced back at Hassan. “So I’m not the only one carrying tension in my shoulders. What’s on your mind?”

Hassan stared at her for a second. “Nothing. I’m not in need of a therapy session right now.”

She caught the deflection. Saw it in the way his eyes didn’t quite settle. But she let it go—for now.

“Okay,” she said, poking at her pasta. “But I do want to ask you something.”

“What?” he said, voice low and already knowing he couldn’t dodge her for long.

“What’s something you always wanted to do as a kid but couldn’t?”

He looked at her like the question caught him off guard—but his mind went there anyway. “Race. Like go-karts and shit.”

Her face lit up. She smiled wide, genuine and warm, before placing her napkin down on the table and standing.

“What you doing?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Let’s go ride some go-karts. Jada looks like she’s good, and I’m not really in the mood to eat.”

She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet, and he narrowed his eyes. “You aight?”

“Igottapee,”sheadmitted,laughing.“Hadtoomuchalcohol, today. But yes or no?”

Hassan stared, unmoved.

“I’m not walking away until you say yes,” she said, now shifting in place. “I will pee on myself right here.”

AlaughrumbledfromHassan’schest,catchingevenhimoff guard. “Yes, mane. Go take your pissy ass to the restroom.”

Sevyn grinned and took off toward the bathroom, still laughing as she disappeared inside.

Hassan leaned back in his chair, watching the door she’d gone through, a rare smile still tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He didn’t expect this day to feel like anything—but somehow, it did.

Sevyn returned from the restroom in no time, and the moment she stepped back into view, she felt Hassan’s eyes on her. His gaze traveled slowly from head to toe, and the way he looked at her—low, focused, admiring—sent a shiver straight down her spine.

He was on the phone, voice low and clipped. “Aight.” He hung up. Shenoticedtheshiftimmediately—thetightnessinhisjaw,the way his whole body seemed to tense. Whoever had been on the other end of that call had disrupted his calm, but she didn’t ask. Not yet. “You ready?” she asked softly once she approached him.

He gave a short nod and pulled two crisp hundreds from his pocket, laying them on the table before standing. They made a quick stop to check in on Jada, made sure she was settled and surrounded by people she trusted, then slipped out as the sun began to melt into the horizon.

Sevyn climbed into her car, glancing in the rearview to see the black Bentley sliding in behind her. She shook her head with a small smile. Hassan behind the wheel always looked like a movie. She didn’t say it out loud, but deep down, she wanted this moment to be more than just a random outing.

She wanted to know him.

Not just the thirty-foot wall he kept up or the twenty-five-year- old man hardened by trauma and survival. She wanted to know the versions of him that had never gotten a chance to grow. The six-year- old boy who lost everything. The ten-year-old carrying the weight of a kill. The haunted parts of him that still surfaced in shadows. She didn’t just want to talk him through it—she wanted to give those versions of him something he never had.

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