Edward's Point Of View
His gaze lifted to mine.
"But this time…" He paused, searching for the right words. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. "I never expected the outcome."
A quiet tension crept up my spine, settling between my shoulder blades like ice. "What outcome?"
"They granted her audience," he said, the words coming out flat, disbelieving. The statement landed with a dull thud in my chest. Wrong. Everything about this felt wrong.
"What?"
"They let her in," Simon repeated, slower now, enunciating each word as though he still couldn't believe it himself. "They actually listened to her."
My fingers tightened slightly against the armrest, knuckles whitening.
"That's not possible," I said, keeping my voice low and measured despite the alarm bells ringing in my head.
"They did," he insisted, and I heard the frustration creeping back into his tone, sharpening each syllable. "They listened to her. To everything she said. Every single accusation."
