[CONTENT TEMPLATE HERE]

Chapter 675:

“Why?” She looked up at him, searching his face for the angle, the catch, the hidden clause that would make this generosity make sense. “Why are you doing this p>

His gray eyes held hers. For a moment the mask slipped, and she saw something raw and hungry beneath the polished surface.

“Because last night,” he said, “you let me be vulnerable. You let me break down and you didn’t run. You stayed.” He reached out, his hand finding her elbow, steadying her though she had not swayed. “This is me returning the favor. This is me saying: I trust you with my car. I trust you with my home. I trust you to come back p>

The words landed in her chest like stones dropped into still water. She had spent years building her own trust, her own independence, her own carefully constructed fortress of solitude. And here was this man, handing her the keys to his life as though they weighed nothing.

“And if I don’t come back?” she asked, testing.

Easton smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “Then I’ll know I pushed too hard. And I’ll adjust.” He released her elbow and stepped back, putting space between them that felt like a gift and a wound at the same time. “But you’ll come back, June. Not because I asked. Because you want to p>

She wanted to argue. She wanted to throw the keys in his face and take the subway as she always did—to prove that she was still autonomous, still untouchable, still hers alone.

Instead, she slid into the driver’s seat.

The leather was warm, already molded to a shape that was not hers. The steering wheel was smaller than she expected, responsive in her hands. She found the adjustment controls, moved the seat forward, and set the mirrors until she could see the empty garage behind her.

Easton stood beside the car, his hands in his pockets, watching her with an expression she could not read.

Ne𝗐 𝘤𝘩𝖺𝘱𝘁e𝘳s e𝗏𝖾𝗋𝘺 w𝗲𝖾𝗄 о𝘯 ѕ.𝖼𝗈m

“One more thing,” he said.

She looked up at him through the open door.

“The GPS.” He leaned down, his face level with hers, close enough that she could see the flecks of darker gray in his irises. “It has a tracking function. For security. If anything happens—if you feel unsafe, if someone follows you—press the blue button on the dash. It’s a silent alert. I’ll know. I’ll find you p>

June felt her stomach tighten. Tracking. Surveillance. The words triggered something primal, something that remembered locked doors and monitored phones and the suffocating weight of Cole’s possession.

“I don’t need p>

“I know you don’t need.” Easton’s voice was soft but insistent. “But I do. I need to know you have a lifeline if the worst happens. It’s not for watching, June. It’s for emergencies. Humor me p>

She should refuse. She should demand he remove it, prove her independence, maintain the boundaries that kept her sane.

She nodded instead.

“Fine p>

Easton’s smile was radiant, transforming his face from handsome to beautiful. He straightened and stepped back from the door. “Drive safe, Dr. Erickson. I’ll see you tonight p>