(Lara's POV)
I didn't feel my legs.
I didn't hear the hallway.
I didn't hear Jasmine's footsteps or the echo of the lab door closing behind us.
All I heard was my own voice replaying over and over:
"You stole him!"
God.
God, I actually said that.
But the moment the words ripped out of me, something inside cracked so violently I physically couldn't hold anything in anymore. All the composure I trained myself to maintain — the perfect Chua daughter control — shattered in front of half the class.
And now the shards were tearing through me with every breath.
I barely made it to the nearest bench before my knees buckled.
Jasmine's hand hovered close, not touching yet. "Lara—"
I covered my face with both hands as a sound clawed out of me — broken, raw, humiliating.
And then Anthony arrived.
He didn't rush.
He didn't pity.
He just… sat beside me.
Close enough to anchor me.
Far enough to let me break safely.
"Lara," he said softly.
I sobbed harder.
