The Calm After the Hammer Falls
"Hello, could the staff please handle this uncivilized person who is personally attacking me?"
Julian D'Aurelius raised his hand and called out without the slightest hint of urgency, his tone almost playful—like a student casually reporting a classmate rather than confronting a man ready to tear his throat out.
The contrast was jarring.
Around them, the air felt like glass stretched too tight—one more push and it would shatter.
Lucas heard it.
And something inside him snapped.
Lucas heard his leg almost tilt forward as if his body itself wanted to lunge—muscles coiling, instincts screaming—but he held himself back by sheer force. A thick vein bulged across his forehead, pulsing violently, his anger no longer something hidden—it was alive, crawling across his skin.
He let out a slow, heavy breath through clenched teeth.
