I suddenly paused mid-motion, my hand still wiping the table as his words settled in the air, stirring something uncomfortable within my instincts. This was a subject I had no intention of revisiting, something that sat buried beneath layers I had long since chosen not to reopen. Without hesitation, I rejected him outright, my voice steady. "I don't want to talk about that."
"It's all in the past. You should let it go and be open about it," Elliot Presgrave replied, his tone calm but insistent, as though he believed he was guiding me rather than pressing me. He seemed convinced that my decision to remain unbonded was rooted in old wounds, a lingering imprint from something I had already survived.
He didn't understand. Or perhaps he chose not to.
Lifting my head, I met his gaze with clarity, keeping my composure intact. "President Presgrave, it's late."
