I returned to the table, but I didn't say a word about what I had just overheard.
I took a seat, picked up my glass of water, and joined in the conversation that was already going on around me. The whole time, I made sure to keep my face looking calm and collected, just like I had been practicing for months. It was a mask I had gotten really good at wearing, even if it didn't always reflect how I was really feeling inside.
Victoria arrived at our table twenty minutes later.
She didn't take a seat; instead, she walked up to stand behind Damien's chair, like she was coming home to a place that was partly hers. She put one hand on the back of his chair for a moment, and then she leaned in to talk to him. Whatever she said caught the attention of the man sitting to his left; he looked up, i
