Chapter 23: The Facade

Lumina

"I wanted to apologize," I said directly to Sophia, keeping my tone neutral and professional. Last thing I wanted was for Xenois to see that I was bluffing my way through this bullshit.

"Xenois mentioned that our conversation yesterday may have been... misunderstood. If I said or did anything that made you or Riley feel unwelcome, that wasn't my intention."

The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but I forced them out. This was just a performance, a necessary measure to get Xenois to back off from me so I can focus on what's truly important.

Sophia's eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn't expected...