Chapter 87 The Silence Of Time

• The cake shop felt like a universe unto itself, a little, modest haven amid a busy city. Outside, unaware of the little time Adam and Rosie had just experienced, the planet sped ahead. Inside, the air scented like vanilla and buttercream—the kind of scent that would have let even the hardest man forget the coldness of the life he led.
• Adam requested a slice of cake. He was unable to quite articulate why. Perhaps it was the way Rosie had eaten the sweets with such wild abandon, as though she had no regard for the guidelines of the society in which she lived. Perhaps it was because he experienced something not quite the keen edge of control for the first time in a very long period. Though it felt more than that, the cake was a rich, luscious treat, a transient pleasure. It felt like the start of something he was not yet able to name.
• Rosie didn't flinch as he sat beside her; his posture is always exact and tight. Though his presence still carried power, there was something different about this moment—an unsaid knowledge. She had placed orders for a range of cakes for herself, and when she looked at him with that pleased sparkle in her eyes, he knew she wasn't aiming to challenge him particularly. She was just existing.