**Gaia's POV**

I stared at Ryan with undisguised disgust.

His words hung in the air like a foul stench—crude, vulgar, designed to demean. This was the kind of man who reduced every interaction between a man and a woman to something base and physical. Who couldn't comprehend that respect and loyalty might exist without ulterior motives.

I refused to waste my breath on him. He wasn't worth the effort of a response.

But before I could turn away, Jackson's voice erupted ...