Celeste’s POV
The door creaked open. My breath hitched.
Viv Lancaster stepped into the room first, her heels nearly silent against the floor. Nathaniel followed, tall and composed, but visibly uncomfortable. I felt a strange jolt ripple through me, like cold water running down my spine. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating.
“What…” My voice came out hoarse. “Why are you here?”
Viv’s gaze swept over me, her expression softening in a way I hadn’t expected. Pity. That was the first thing I saw. Not hostility. Not judgment. Just… quiet, aching pity.
“We came to apologize,” she said gently. “To see you. If that’s alright.”
I didn’t answer right away. My pulse fluttered erratically. Part of me wanted to shout. To scream that they were a little late. The other part—the one curled beneath layers of exhaustion and trauma—simply couldn’t find the strength to fight.
So I nodded. Even though I wasn’t entirely sure if they’d really been responsible for covering up Genevieve’s wrong doings.
