The office was quieter than usual, almost unsettlingly so, as if the entire building had slowed down just to listen to what would happen between them. Peter stood by the window with his back partially turned, his hands in his pockets, unusually still. "You keep looking at me like I'm about to accuse you of something," he said finally, his voice calm but carrying a faint edge of fatigue. "But have you ever considered that maybe I'm just trying to understand you?"
Caro hesitated at her desk, her fingers tightening slightly around a folder she wasn't reading anymore. "Understanding me?" she repeated softly, trying to mask the unease rising in her chest. "That sounds dangerous coming from you." She lifted her gaze carefully. "You don't usually try to understand people. You evaluate them." Her voice softened slightly. "That's what makes you… you."
