Eliza Moore is twenty, unemployed, and back in a house she never planned to live in - a house full of rules, silence, and things that aren't meant to be talked about. Her mum calls it temporary. Eliza knows better. There are reasons she isn't safe living alone. Reasons only her mum knows. Reasons she's determined no one else ever will. Especially him. Ethan Carter keeps to himself. He disappears for hours in his car, avoids conflict, and already knows he's a disappointment to his dad. Eliza's sudden arrival feels like another complication he didn't ask for - so he keeps his distance, even as he starts noticing the quiet things she does to cope. The way she sits down too fast. The way she leaves rooms without explanation. The way she pretends she's fine. As feelings grow in the spaces they're not supposed to exist, Eliza is forced to choose between staying safe in silence... or being honest with the one person she doesn't want to lie to. Because some secrets protect you. And some keep you trapped. And loving someone means deciding which ones you're willing to break.
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