Anna's POV
The words hung in the air like a grenade with its pin pulled. I sat frozen, my coffee cup suspended halfway to my lips, as my brain struggled to process what Marcus had just said. The bustling restaurant seemed to fade away, leaving only the thundering of my heart in my ears.
Gabriel's face drained of color. Leah Barrett looked like she'd swallowed something particularly unpleasant. And my mother-my poor mother— appeared to be experiencing all five stages of grief simultaneously.
"Marcus," Elizabeth finally managed, her voice pitched several notes higher than normal, "what an unexpected... joke. Very amusing." She forced out a laugh that sounded like glass breaking.
Marcus's eyes remained fixed on me, ignoring everyone else at the table.
"I'm not joking."
The intensity of his gaze made my skin prickle with heat. I set down my coffee cup before my trembling hands could betray me further.
