Alice

I pushed my chair back, the legs scraping against the floor, and stood up, my eyes locked on Xavier's mom. "May I speak with you, please? In private?"

The room fell silent, the only sound the soft hum of the chandelier above us. Xavier's mom, her expression hesitant, nodded curtly, as if she had no choice. She pushed back her own chair, the movement mirrored, and followed me out of the dining room.

The tension in the room was palpable, like a living thing that pulsed with every heartbeat. I could sense the weight of their stares as we left, the unspoken questions hanging in the air like a...