Alex Pov
Sitting at the dinner table with my father, Lucas, Nikolai, Antonio, Marlo, and Cash felt like stepping into some surreal alternate reality.
Everything about it was so formal, so... calculated.
I was beside Dad, as always, the dutiful daughter, while Lucas sat at the opposite end of the table.
Nikolai was next to Dad, just a seat away from me, while Lucas’s friends filled the seats across from us.
I tried to ignore how suffocating it felt, surrounded by people who had no clue about the person I really was—or who I wanted to be.
Millie and the staff came in, placing platters of food on the table.
I glanced at her, grateful for her familiar presence. Millie had always been more than just help; she was family.
When Lucas opened his mouth, though, I could practically feel th
