Pen-drop silence descended in the room like time itself had frozen.
Specifically, the eyes of Ava and Claire were narrowed to the size of needles, as if they had just been splashed with cold water. Their breathing hitched.
Meanwhile, Ruby and Amelia didn't display such extreme reactions, but they too appeared surprised.
Some might have wondered why Victoria had revealed her confession to Michael so openly.
The reason was simple: she knew Claire and Ava loved him. Though the future was uncertain, as a comrade-in-arms, she felt it was only right to tell them the truth, even if they hadn't suspected a thing. Such was the strength of their bond.
Not to mention that Victoria had already seen enough pointless drama in TV shows and romance novels, where secrets like this were glorified, only to lead to catastrophic fallout later. She didn't want that kind of mess affecting their group.
