~Teyana’s POV~

We were all seated in the Carters’ penthouse, waiting for him.

I wished I didn’t have to be here, but here I was.

John sat at the head of the table, his posture stiff, one hand tapping endlessly against the arm of his couch. My mother sat beside him, pretending to scroll through her phone though she hadn’t actually looked at the screen for minutes.

Zayne was across from me, elbows on his knees, eyes down, he had been trying to make eye contact with me since he arrived ...