Liora’s POV
Without waiting for her reply, the lecturer shook his head and walked away looking disappointed. Zaian waved me goodbye and walked away as well. I thought, foolishly, that she’d given up. That after the professor’s sharp dismissal, after the humiliating reveal of Zaian’s connection to me, Clara would finally retreat to nurse her wounds in private. But she wasn’t finished.
“Liora,” she said, her voice low and urgent. I looked up from my glass, catching the desperation burning through her carefully smoothed expression. She was trying for composure, but the cracks showed, her lips trembled, her eyes darted between me and the professor’s retreating figure.
“Please,” she said quickly, stepping closer to my chair. “I know things got out of hand earlier, but… you can talk t
