Dinner is quiet—just the way I used to prefer it before Amy came in my life. The clinking of silver against porcelain is the only sound in the vast dining hall. Cassandra hovers in the doorway like a ghost I wish I couldn’t see. Her perfume reaches me before her voice does.
“Mr. Woods,” she says softly, stepping in with a tray she clearly didn’t prepare herself. “I thought I’d join you tonight. It’s lonely eating alone.”
I don’t lift my gaze. “Put the tray down and leave.”
Her heels click closer, ignoring the steel in my tone. “You shouldn’t eat by yourself. It’s bad for your heart.”
My jaw tightens. I finally look up, my eyes cold. “Cassandra, this is not a request. Leave. Now.”
Her lips tremble, feigning hurt. “Kael—”
“Don’t.” I slam the glass down hard enough that the echo bounces
