For a split second, he froze. His gaze flickered between my ruined hand and her pale, trembling figure. Doubt crossed his face—just briefly.
Then she suddenly doubled over, clutching her stomach and crying out, “Thorne… my stomach hurts so bad. There were peanuts in the soup. You know I’m allergic to peanuts!” She gasped dramatically. “I only asked her one thing, and she exploded.”
She clung to him, sobbing louder. “If you don’t believe me, check the cameras. I would never lie to you, Thorne!”
“Ah… it hurts… it really hurts…”
I stared at her in disbelief. “I didn’t put peanuts in anything,” I said. “Whoever’s lying, the cameras will prove it.”
But Thorne’s hesitation vanished as if it had never existed. His face hardened, his eyes turning icy.
“I told you she’s allergic,” he said sharply. “How could you be so careless?”
She buried her face against his chest, her voice weak and pitiful. “Please don’t be angry at her. I know she hates me. I don’t blame her… she just wants me gone. Maybe I really should leave.”
“No,” he said immediately, tightening his arm around her. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Then he turned on me. “Aria. Apologize. Now.”
“Thorne, I swear I’m telling the tru—”