The dining room fell into an abyss of dead, suffocating silence.
The crystal chandelier above seemed to hum in the silence, its harsh light casting long, rigid shadows across the mahogany table. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Jade’s fork slipped from her trembling fingers, clattering sharply against her china plate before rolling onto the white linen. Her face drained of every drop of color, her wide, disbelieving eyes fixed entirely on me.
"Nora..." Jade’s voice broke, barely a raspy whisper across the vast table. Her gaze flicked from my face down to Mason’s hands, which were still resting heavily, possessively on my shoulders, and then to my stomach. "You... and Mason?"
Victoria didn't gasp. She didn't shout. Instead, her posture turned to liquid ice, her pale blue eyes narrowi
