ely enveloping her in his shadow. He looked down
asked, his voice low
, her eyes brimming with fake tears. "Ethan, please, don't be angry with her," sh
as an unstable woman in need of pity and superv
out from the booth. "He doesn't want
o had once smiled at her, eaten the dinners she cooked, and praised her architectural de
pulled out her cheap new phone, intendi
darkening with paranoia. He thought she was about to take p
ing forward and snatchin
rling the small plastic phone onto the polished floor. The device sha
ct silenced everyone instantly. All eyes turned to Seraphina, wait
ither crie
owly lifted her head. Her expression was unnervingly
han's furi
arried clearly through the sudden silence that had
confused. This was the last th
me for it,
e, his friends erupted
lost he
to extort mo
gh. "You want money? How much? A million dol
llars. Including sales tax, the total comes to one hundred and
of place amid the tension hanging in the ai
It was a settlement with boundaries, the kind
iliation. He had thrown a bomb at her,
rom this moment on, I, Seraphina Ross, am terminating all relationships with you,
t, ghostlike smile brushing across her lips. "And y
h her palm facing upward, and repeated firmly, "One
he room had shifted completely and silently, so much so that nobody knew how to react. For the first time in his life, Eth
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