After Mr. Kevin Everly left, only Amara and Finnian were left in the room.


    Amara felt acutely ufortable, keeping her head down and eating in silence. Finnian nced at her multiple times, and seeing her so withdrawn-never once looking up at him-left him feeling frustrated.


    After a couple of minutes, Finnian finally couldn''t hold back. He looked up and asked, "Can I ask you something?"


    With no one else around, it was obvious he was talking to Amara.


    Amara furrowed her brow. "Go ahead."


    She was genuinely curious what Finnian wanted to ask, but she didn''t expect him to say, "Why did you hit Dorian the other day?"


    Finnian really was puzzled by it. If Amara had been angry at him, it didn''t make sense for her to take it out on Dorian-after all, she hadn''t so much as touched Finnian himself.


    The mention of Dorian immediately brought to mind Elysia''s pregnancy, and the photos Elysia had shown her of their messages. Amara''s mood took a turn for the


    worse.


    She set her fork down and said, "Dorian is still in contact with Jessica behind Elysia''s back. He''s pretending to be devoted to Elysia while secretly seeing Jessica. That''s just despicable. Don''t tell him I told you this.”


    She couldn''t tell Finnian about the pregnancy, but she had no qualms about exposing Dorian''s involvement with Jessica.


    As she spoke, her mood grew even darker-her face visibly clouded over.


    Dorian was still in touch with Jessica? He''d supposedly decided to settle down with Elysia, but was still keeping Jessica on the side? That was clearly two-timing.


    Suddenly, Finnian thought of himself. From Amara''s point of view, was he any different?


    A pang of anxiety hit him. He asked, "In your eyes, am I that kind of person too?"


    Amara was silent for a moment. "Yes, you are. To me, you and Dorian are cut from the same cloth."


    Those words stung. Finnian knew she wasn''t wrong—at least, not from her perspective. He felt genuinely hurt, but there was nothing he could say to defend himself.


    1.n


    Soon, Mr. Kevin Everly returned. He nced at Finnian, who looked utterly dejected, and at Amara, who sat with her lips pressed tightly together, clearly upset. He couldn''t help but wonder what had happened between the two had they gotter into an argument?


    Truthfully, Mr. Kevin Everly had sensed something was off between them since the meal began.


    In the past, Amara might have ignored Finnian, but Finnian would always persistently try to engage her in conversation.


    But today, Finnian wasn''t speaking to her at all. And it was obvious that it wasn''t just


    that he didn''t want to talk―he seemed almost afraid to. That was telling.


    Now, after returning from the


    bathroom, he could sense their moods had shifted again, as if something unpleasant had as quit of the


    happened white he was out of the


    room. What exactly had gone on?


    Although countless thoughts shed through his mind, Mr. Kevin Everly didn''t bring


    it up. He simply sat down, continued eating, and made small talk.


    He shared stories he''d recently heard from old friends. Amara responded to him


    throughout, while Finnian became the quiet one, barely saying a word.


    Amara kept the conversation going because she knew Mr. Kevin Everly wasn''t in the best spirits today and st spirits today and


    wanted to lift his mood. Finnian, meanwhile, just sat there, quietly watching the two of them,