Soon, a waiter led Ivan Gray to a table, and he took a seat right behind Summer Thorne.
He and Summer Thorne were sitting back-to-back, their chairs about half a meter apart. It was a distance clearly outside the bounds of normal social interaction, yet just close enough for her to hear the voice coming from behind her—
"Miss Thorne, I'm very sorry to have to speak to you this way. I was afraid of disturbing you, and I was also afraid of disturbing Mr. York."
Ivan Gray spoke in a low voice, his eyes downcast. When he finished, he heard no response.
This was, of course, to be expected.
But thankfully, he didn't hear the sound of Summer Thorne pushing back her chair to get up and leave, either.
So, after a brief pause, Ivan Gray continued in a low voice—
"I know these past few months must have been very difficult for you… I can't say how Mr. York has been, but I can tell you that I honestly don't know what I've been going through myself…"
