POV: Chloe

I will never, as long as I live, forgive my ringtone.

The cheerful little pop song died instantly as Ethan’s thumb swiped the screen. The silence that followed was suffocating—the heavy, static kind that fills a room right before something irreversible happens.

From under the desk, I couldn’t see Ethan’s face. I didn’t need to. I could hear his total stillness. The way his breathing shifted from casual to dangerously careful.

I did the only thing I could think of. I shoved my phone upward, straight into Tristan’s hand. His long fingers closed around it without hesitation.

“That’s Chloe’s,” Ethan stated slowly.

“It is.” Tristan’s delivery was flawless....