Lila’s POV
“Claudia—?” The name tumbles from my lips before I can stop it, my voice jagged with shock. I can hear the disbelief in my own tone, the way it cracks as if saying her name might make her vanish.
Her mouth curves into a slow, poisonous smirk. “Why? Surprised to see me here?” Her words drip with mockery, each syllable drawn out like a knife. “Come on, Lila, I should be the one surprised. Look around, Lila. Does anyone else here look like they don’t belong? Exactly. And now you dare humiliate one of us and think you can walk away free? How bold of you.”
A sigh escapes me as I drag myself off the cold floor, the chill clinging to my palms. My chest tightens under the weight of every gaze pressing down on me, their silence heavy, waiting, as if the entire room holds its breath fo
