“Tell me the truth.”
Aruna’s voice was calm, but the calm felt dangerous.
Dante stood in front of her, silent. His eyes were unreadable, but his body was tense in a way she had never seen before.
“Was it planned?” she asked.
Maya watched them quietly, her expression impossible to read.
Dante did not answer immediately.
Aruna took a step closer.
“Was our meeting planned?” she repeated.
Silence stretched between them.
Marco shifted uncomfortably behind Dante, but he did not interrupt.
“Yes,” Dante said finally.
The word landed like a blow.
Aruna felt the world tilt.
“So everything,” she whispered, “the bar, the debt, the night you came, the way you looked at me… none of it was real?”
“It was real,” Dante said.
She laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.
“Real?” she repe
