Sophia’s P.O.V

I drew in a shaky breath before speaking, because the silence between us had stretched so long it felt like a wall neither of us wanted to touch.

“Tristan,” I finally said, my voice small but firm, “my father… he agreed to compensate you. For saving Nathan. He said he’ll pay you whatever you want, but you have to promise…really promise that you won’t cause any more trouble for us or for the kids.”

I waited for him to explode, or scoff, or ...