Page 26 of Glass Jawed
I don’t want to talk about it. Not because it still hurts. But because I’m tired of it. Tired of remembering how it all unfolded. The mess. The timing. The weight of a thousand bad decisions, most of them Tim’s.
But it has a hold on her. I can see it in her eyes every time she thinks about it—the way they lose light, like a switch has been flipped inside her. That night doesn’t just haunt me, I think.
It makes me wonder if maybe she wasn’t as unaffected as I believed. She definitely feels guilty, but who wouldn’t—sleeping with a taken man.
But this woman isn’t naive. She’s lived through enough that I can’t afford to underestimate her. She wants control of this conversation—maybe even this entire dynamic. And she’s tryingto understand me. Trying to peel back the layers and figure outwhyI’m here.WhyI’m pursuing her. Because to her, physical attraction isn’t enough of a reason. And honestly? I don’t blame her.
I haven’t been doing the best job of convincing her otherwise.
So tonight, I tell her more than I planned to. Everything leading up to that night.
How I’m an only child of divorced parents. Grew up in St. Catharines. No siblings, no pets—until I got my own place and adopted Cooper.
How Cooper had cancer. Fought it for six years before I had to put him down last year.
How it happened just months before Tim cheated. (Not once do I tagwith youafter that sentence.)
She listens quietly, nodding every now and then, her expressions shifting with the story. Her eyes crinkle with warmth when I talk about Cooper, soft with sympathy. But when I mention Tim—and that night—her gaze dims, like someone just turned down the lights inside her.
“So... yeah. That’s me.” I run a hand over my jaw, suddenly aware of how long I’ve been talking.
“Thank you for sharing, Lucian,” she says softly, her voice raspy. I’d been rambling so long, maybe she hadn’t spoken in a while. Or maybe... maybe Cooper’s part got to her. It’s hard to tell.
“What about this past year?” she asks gently. “What have you been up to?”
I freeze.
Because the truth? Nothing worth mentioning. Nothing memorable.
“Last year was... I don’t know. I’ve just been... going through the motions. Pouring everything into Kepler Health. Letting myfriends drag me out when they got sick of watching me become a hermit.”
I chuckle, remembering how just two weeks ago Liam basically blackmailed me into taking the guest lecturer spot at Rotman. His bribe? A bottle of Macallan and a full-on ambush at my apartment by the rest of our crew.
Didn’t think it’d lead me toher. But maybe the universe likes irony.
“What about you? What’s your story, Rohi?”
The question slips out before I can stop it. But it’s not just to keep the conversation going. I want to know.Reallyknow.
She’s been so guarded—just enough that I notice the shift every time she pulls back. She’s upfront on the surface, but you can tell she chooses her words with care. Like she’s weighing how much of herself is safe to share.
She gives a soft, nervous laugh. “I think we can assign tonight asGetting to Know Lucian. My turn can be some other night?”
The way she says it—tight-lipped, her eyes lowering to her half-empty plate—makes something uneasy twist in my gut.
That wasn’t a deflection. That was avoidance.
And I don’t like it.
I shared everything. Everything leading up to that night, including Cooper, including Tim. The least she could do is offer something back—unless she thinks she’ll accidentally let out the sordid truth of that night.
That she did in fact know that Tim was taken. Fuck! How could she not know? It wasright there.
I don’t believe for a second that she didn’t know. Or that she willfully ignored it. All she had to do was turn her head and see the framed photos littered across the hall. Photos of me and Tim—happy, loving, fucking stable.
I school my face quickly and lean back, letting a teasing edge slip into my voice.
“Should’ve known you’re the type who pursues, huh?” I smirk. “Are you asking me out, Ms. Talwar?”
