CHAPTER 41

I hadn't realized how hard I was gripping the table until I could feel my fingernails indenting the wood.

I was so invested in Loretta's story, so drawn to the smiles and the frowns that she carried, that it didn't seem like I was even in my guest house, but following Sebastian around in his teenage years.

So when she suddenly stopped talking, I was pulled back into reality. And realized that my fingernails were indenting the wood.

But why had she suddenly stopped?

"What happened in Garrett's office?" I ask Loretta quietly after a moment's silence. She mimics my body language—taut, nervous, anxious and stiff. The only difference is, Loretta knows the next chapter in Sebastian's story. I do not.