Ezekiel's pov,
The moment Lauren ran out of the restaurant, I exhaled slowly, letting the last thread of tension unwind from my shoulders. The entire restaurant was now buzzing with whispers and fork sounds hovering mid‐ air, eyes following the chaos she had left behind as it all rested on Vivian now. The air was sharp enough to cut through, and it was heavy with embarrassment that didn't even belong to me.
I turned back towards Vivian and her boyfriend. She looked stunned and taken aback, I guess it was still from the momentum of the slap earlier, her hands were now folded and her boyfriend looked like he was ready to get involved if things escalated again.
“I'm sorry about that,” I whispered, my voice almost controlled and low. “She didn't mean for it to go that far.”
They both nodd
