Ethan POV

Alice's interruption cuts through the tension like a knife.

Relief washes over me. Immediate and shameful.

Because I was afraid. Genuinely afraid of where that conversation was heading. What irreparable damage we might do to each other if it continued.

The Council complaint gives us an exit. A distraction. A reason to table the argument neither of us knows how to resolve.

Grace's attention shifts immediately. Away from me. Away from the ...