Just as the dinner atmosphere was warming, and I, temporarily forgetting my troubles, found a small smile touching my lips, the air at the restaurant entrance suddenly grew thick and icy. A tall, imposing figure appeared there as abruptly as a shard of ice tearing through warm fabric. Derek Volton. He was dressed in his usual black, a cold, triumphant smirk playing on his lips. His dark eyes, deep as abysses, locked directly onto me. The temperature in the entire restaurant seemed to plummet. The relaxed, pleasant atmosphere vanished, replaced by a dead, tense silence. Ethan paled, instinctively shrinking behind William. William and Jim rose almost simultaneously, their bodies tense, ready for a fight. But Luke was faster. The instant Derek appeared, he was on his feet, moving with the spe
