The engine of the Bentley hummed with suave contempt as it sliced a jagged line along the fog-shrouded road. Autumn leaves blew by the windshield like discarded confetti—gold, red, rust—and each of them seemed to speak of an era past that Ethan was not yet ready to leave behind.
Zaria sat quietly in the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone every now and again, but not really reading. Her sunglasses hid her expression, but Ethan could sense the wheels turning behind them. She wasn't a distracted woman. He wondered what she saw in him. He didn't know if he wanted to know.
They'd driven for twenty minutes in silence.
It was not a cordial silence. It was the kind that filled a room even when two people were being courteous. Guarded. Distance.
Ethan finally broke it. "So. What were y
