She spoke gently, laughed when appropriate, contributed nothing that could be disagreed with. But I noticed the way Ethan tracked her movements unconsciously — a subtle lift of attention whenever she reached for her glass, a slight shift when she paused mid-sentence.
I didn’t eat much.
“The board would like the engagement announced within the week,” Clara said at one point. “Stability matters.”
“That’s fast,” Lydia remarked carefully.
“It’s necessary,” Clara replied.
Lydia nodded — then looked at Ethan.
Not me.
After dinner, as everyone rose, Lydia touched Ethan’s arm.
“May I speak with you?”
There it was again. That quiet assumption.
He hesitated — just long enough to make the moment visible — then said, “Of course.”
I watched them step aside, their voices lowering, heads angling toward each other like a private orbit.
Clara appeared at my shoulder.
“You noticed,” she said.
“I did.”
“She’s been here since the beginning. Before you.”
“I gathered.”
“She understands how this family functions,” Clara added. “And Ethan… understands how to prioritize people who matter.”
People.
Plural.
I swallowed the word.
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