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