His question came so suddenly, it left Edithpletely stunned.

“What did you say?”

Under the warm, golden light, Justin’s hair seemed to glow with hints of chestnut. From this angle, hisshes looked impossibly thick.

But all his attention was on her knee.

“I asked if your knee hurts. Didn’t you hit that bastard with it?”

It was only then that Edith remembered what had happened back at Northcrest

Tower.

“You even know about that?”

Justin’s gaze lingered on her knee, and the memory of what he’d seen on the security footage twisted something inside him, sharp and painful.

How dare that bastard?

He’d blocked Edith’s path, forcing someone as gentle as her to resort to kneeing him just to get free…

Justin’s jaw tightened. “If I hadn’t found out, were you just never going to tell me?”

Steam curled through the bathroom, softening every edge. Edith wondered if she was imagining things, but somehow Justin’s voice sounded almost…hurt.

No, it must be her imagination.

Probably just the steam making her ears fuzzy, making her hear things that weren’t there.

She gave a sheepish little shrug. “It wasn’t anything good, so I didn’t see the point in bringing it up.”

The mere thought of Beckett was enough to ruin her mood. There was no need to let someone like him spoil Justin’s as well.

Justin looked up, his gaze bright and misty with emotion.

He stared at her, steady and earnest. “Do you know what marriage means? It means sharing everything–good or bad.”

Edith nodded, though she only half understood why he was so serious.

16:40

But agreeing with Justin always felt like the right thing to do.

When she nodded, his attention slipped back to her knee.

Edith nced down, too. Her skin looked pale and unblemished.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt. Maybe I hit him itoo /ihard at the time, but now I can’t feel a thing.”

The way she brushed it all off made Justin want to smile, but underneath, a

slow–burning anger simmered. He couldn’t quite let it go.

He squeezed a bit of body wash into his hand. “Well, if it doesn’t hurt, let me give it a good clean.”

Justin gently massaged her knee.

Edith watched him, her brow furrowing just a little, a chill settling low in her chest. “Do you think…it’s dirty? Because I touched him with it?”

Justin stilled, surprised, then looked up at her with genuine seriousness. He couldn’t help but reach out and cup her cheek. “What are you thinking? If anything’s dirty, it’s him. Your knee is perfectly clean.”

As Edith’s bath was drawing to a close, her phone started to ring, over and over.

Worried, she tried to sit up in the tub. “There aren’t many people who’d call me thiste. It’s probably my cousin–she must need something.”

Seeing her so flustered, Justin sighed and pressed her gently back down by the shoulder, “When are iyou /iever going to be this concerned about me, huh?”

He stood, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. “You’ve had a long day. Just rx and finish your bath–I’ll get your phone.”

For a moment, Edith didn’t know where to look.

No matter where she put her gaze, it felt awkward.

So she settled for staring at her own legs, pale and half–submerged in the water.