Chapter 651 – If You Burn The World, I'll Hand You The Matches
Ely didn't respond immediately. Not with a clever quip or diplomatic correction. She just… looked at him. Really looked. As if she was trying to match the heat behind that grin with something solid inside herself.
And maybe she did. Because her lips curved, not into the usual polished, practiced smile, but something darker. Sharper. The kind of smile that whispered 'If you burn the world, I'll hand you the matches.'
Their food arrived before the tension could boil over. Seared ocean salmon glazed in lemon-butter herb sauce, the scent so delicate it made Ely's nostrils twitch. For Lux, a medium-rare steak with a molten pat of truffle herb butter dripping down its side like temptation.
The server poured her citrus tonic with a bow. Poured his black wine in a crystal glass with both reverence and barely hidden curiosity. And yeah… Lux saw it.
The camera flashes.
