(Vince POV)
Vince Kho did not lose sleep.
He simply… didn't sleep properly.
There was a difference, obviously.
One implied melodrama. The other implied mild annoyance and the universe testing his patience for absolutely no good reason.
Which was exactly how he chose to classify the fact that he had been staring at his ceiling since 2:17 a.m., replaying the same series of very stupid thoughts on an unnecessary loop.
Lara.
Bowling.
Drinks.
Why did I even suggest that?
He rolled onto his side and punched his pillow once.
Not hard. Just enough to express irritation without emotional commitment.
It wasn't like he'd never invited the Inner Nine out before. He did that all the time. Random dinners. Random game nights. Random "let's waste money for no reason" outings. This was normal. Completely normal behaviour from Vincent Kho, certified chaos dealer and social facilitator.
So why did it feel like he'd staged this one a little too carefully?
