Andrea’s POV
The second the door closed behind Braxton, silence settled over the room, but it wasn’t peaceful.
It was charged. Thick. A pressure in the air that made my chest tighten.
My aunt turned from the window like she had been waiting for the moment to pounce. Her face had changed.
Gone was the tight politeness she’d shown with Braxton in the room. Now her expression was alarmed, stern, and something else I couldn’t quite place… Fear.
She marched over to my bedside and folded her arms, but her fingers were clenched into her sleeves, knuckles taut under the fabric.
“You need to stay away from that boy,” she said.
No preamble. No softness.
I blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.” Her voice was sharp, and she wasn’t blinking now either. “I don’t want to see him here again. Or at sch
