One sip, and his eyes widened. He could swear it was the best coffee he'd ever had. Then again, the only coffee he'd known were those cheap instant packets he mixed at home, so maybe he wasn't qualified to judge. Still, whatever this was, it tasted like another world, a world that until now he had only seen from the outside.
That was when Aren began to notice. He'd seen people treat Rex with courtesy last night, sure, but sitting here, in this polished office filled with the lawyer's achievements, it struck him harder. Each small act, from the lawyer's measured tone to the way he personally handled the coffee, carried a weight Aren couldn't ignore.
Leaning back uneasily in his chair, Aren realized how out of place he felt. Every frame on the wall seemed to judge him, every book in the shelves reminding him that he didn't belong here.
