75. FAKE RELATIONSHIPS

THIRD PERSON POV

The restaurant was alive with chatter and the soft clinking of silverware against porcelain plates. Waiters glided between tables, balancing trays of delicately arranged dishes, while the warm, ambient lighting cast a golden glow over everything. At a corner table, near the window, Whitney sat with Vincent, her hand resting lightly on his arm as she laughed at something he had said. Her laughter was bright, her eyes sparkling with an affection that, to anyone else, might have seemed genuine.

But Katerina knew better. She watched them from across the table, her smile fixed but her eyes sharp, taking in every detail. The way Whitney tilted her head, the way she leaned in just a bit too close to Vincent, her hand lingering on his arm a moment too long. What was she doing? More precisely, what was he doing? Da’ana told her that he hated Whitney, so what was this?

Vincent smiled back at Whitney, his expression warm and easy, but there was a flicker of something in his eye