KIMANI
Thirty minutes passed before I finally left my room — not because I was doing anything important, but because I needed time to stop looking like an overripe tomato. I swear, if I’d walked downstairs still flushed like that, Alaric would’ve thought I had a fever. Or worse — that I was still thinking about him.
Which… I absolutely wasn’t.
Not at all.
Okay, maybe a little.
Fine — a lot.
I took one last deep breath before stepping into the hallway, silently coaching myself. It’s just dinner, Kimani. Normal dinner. No weird blushing, no staring, no butterflies. Just eat and breathe like a normal human.
The faint scent of roasted herbs and something buttery floated through the air, wrapping around me like a warm invitation. The chefs were definitely showing off tonight — not that I
