My fingers were shaking while grasping the brims of the chair. The conference area was so crowded that the burden of the collective gaze weighing upon me seemed like a weight that crushed me.
“Nathaniel, please,” I implored again, breaking into tears. "You must remember me. I never—"
But he brusquely cut me short. "It's final, Peace." His voice was too harsh with no quarter for discussion.
Lucas exhaled heavily, relaxing into the chair with hands crossed over the chest as if enjoying mere satisfaction with the performance.
"This is unfortunate," he said smoothly, shaking his head. "Really unfortunate."
I clenched my hands under the table with the knuckles digging into the palm of the hand. The look that he wore—it showed that he did know something. He liked the fall of me.
The other
