Alan's brow furrowed as he stared at Amelia, the sharp lines of his face etched deeper by the tension in the room. There was something deeply unsettling about having a woman in his private space, especially this woman. She didn't just enter a room; she rearranged its atmosphere, as if her mere presence carried a quiet authority that upended the order he had so carefully maintained. His home was a sanctuary of control, where everything had a place and nothing happened without his say-so. And yet, somehow, in the span of a few days, Amelia had managed to slip past the invisible walls he'd built, stepping right into his world without asking permission and making him feel as though he was the intruder.
"What do you mean, lie down?" Samuel's voice cut into the heavy silence. It carried a note of surprise, bordering on alarm, as if Amelia had just suggested something scandalous rather than a medical necessity.
