"Alone," Sofia said again, when neither Elena nor Damian moved. "I mean it. This isn't for you, Damian."
"She's about to be my wife. Anything you tell her, you can tell me."
"Not this one." Sofia's eyes didn't waver from her brother's face, and there was something in them — not defiance exactly, but the particular steel of someone who'd already decided how this conversation was going to go before she walked outside. "You can stand on the other side of that door if it makes you feel better. But you're not standing here for this."
Damian looked at Elena, some silent question passing between them that hadn't existed an hour ago and now felt as natural as breathing. She gave the smallest nod. Whatever Sofia had to say, she wanted to hear it without him editing her reaction to it.
"Five min
