Love Unspoken

Silence was the only response to Quinn's knock.

After a moment, the door creaked open to reveal Alexander, standing aloofly at the threshold, his gaze directed downward at her.

With a swift gesture of her hand, Quinn signaled that it was time to eat. Alexander's eyes followed the movement, darkening momentarily before he suddenly seized her wrist, pinning her against the wall. "Have you lost your voice?" he queried, his tone laced with a hint of irritation.

Quinn found herself caught in his intense gaze, mere inches separating them. She parted her lips, intending to respond, but words failed her. Her voice, slower than her signing, refused to cooperate, leaving her unable to articulate a coherent response.

Alexander watched her impassively, his fingers tracing a path along her cheek, slowly outlining her lips. "What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked, his voice betraying a hint of frustration.

asked you to come with me, you refused, you jumped off a cliff, and now you're cooking meals-what are you trying to say?"Quinn bit her lip, her gaze locked onto his, her mind scrambling for an explanation. "Is my presence so

you seeking freedom anywhere but here? Even in death?"

in Quinn's heart as she reached up, her fingers intertwining with his. She gazed deeply into his

a flutter of anxiety. She tried to express her feelings the only way she knew how,

tolerating her awkward kiss without response. His silence filled Quinn with a sour ache,

with anger or fury-and it always worked. He had never been this

in his eyes. "Is this all you know?""Did you use

Quinn's ear, his voice a whisper, yet piercing her heart like fine needles. "Do you think all men fall for

fragmented words, she managed, "Didn't...didn't...""Didn't what?""Have..." Her face