Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-NineBy the time Aria reached the door, her mind was already moving ahead of her, going over the episode, the reaction, the patterns she still couldn’t fully place. She didn’t notice Richard standing there until she was almost past him.She paused just slightly when she saw him, her expression settling into that familiar calm. Without saying much, she gave him a small, respectful nod.Richard returned it immediately, his eyes searching her face for something more, something beyond the professionalism she always carried so well.But she didn’t give him anything.“I’m just helping anyway,” she said, her voice steady, almost detached, as if she needed to remind both him and herself of that fact.Before he could respond, she continued walking.Richard stood there for a moment longer, watching her go, her steps even, unhurried, like none of this had touched her in any way. But he knew better. He had seen enough to understand that what she showed and what she
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