The night air outside was cooler, but the heat radiating from Pearl was impossible to miss. Her heels struck the stone steps with a sharp, rhythmic precision, each step laced with anger. Brandon kept pace beside her, his expression was calm, his hands tucked in his pockets like he was giving her space to simmer.

She stopped abruptly, just a few feet from the sleek black car waiting at the curb. Her blue eyes cut to him, sharp as glass under moonlight.

“What,” she said, her voice low but trembling with controlled fury, “was the meaning of that inside there?”

Brandon’s brows drew together. “ Miss Pearl.”

“Don’t ‘Pearl’ me,”...