Chelsea's words landed badly.
Not dramatic. Just… wrong. Like something slipping into place where it shouldn't.
Zane didn't turn to her. Didn't ask her to repeat herself. His face didn't change much either, but his hands did. His fingers curled slowly, until his nails bit into his palms.
He welcomed the sting. It grounded him, made him focused, made him not to lash out because of the memory that slid into his mind then.
The moment he had witnessed three days ago. One he would have given anything not to witness.
The hall came back to him in fragments. The shine of the floor. Voices echoing too much. The way he had already been irritated—annoyed enough to stop an actress he barely knew, tell her he was one of Areso's friends, ask where Areso was.
A stupid thing. He had regretted it barely thirty seconds later.
Seeing Noah and Gianna had been too damning a sight…
His chest tightened just thinking about it.
