He didn't say it gently. Didn't sugar the word. He just let it drop between them like something sharp.
Nathan's eyes didn't waver, but something in his shoulders shifted. Not shame. Not doubt. Just absence. Like he knew he'd reached for something and come back missing.
"I figured," he said.
Seraphina's jaw clenched. "You don't remember him."
Nathan turned to her. Blinked once. "No."
"You should," she said, and walked past him without waiting for an answer.
Mae stood back, arms crossed, face pale. "You don't even feel weird about that?"
"I feel weird about everything," Nathan said, and the way he said it wasn't angry, it was honest. "But what do you want me to do? Pretend I remember what I don't?"
"You could try acting like it matters," Dion muttered, quieter than usual.
Nathan looked at him. "It does."
