The drive was silent.
The tension was thick in the air.
My mother’s gaze kept flicking toward me from the driver’s seat. Her silent judgment burning into my skin now and then. Finally, she broke the silence. Her graceful demeanor falling away as her tone turned sharp.
“What were you doing there?” she asked harshly.
I didn’t hesitate to counter. “I could ask you the same, Mom.”
Her knuckles tightened on the steering wheel as she glared at me briefly. “I was there for a meeting with the highest-ranking council members,” she said pointedly. her eyes darting back to the road. Then she turned to me. her expression demanding an answer.
“I was in a meeting too,” I said coldly, unwilling to back down.
Her jaw tightened, and I could sense she already knew exactly why I was there. She just
