Their expressions froze—hers pale with fear, her rigid with confusion. I ignored them both, as well as the whispers rippling through the crowd, and walked out of the hall without looking back.
The night air outside was cool, the murmurs inside fading as I reached my car.
Just as I started the engine, my phone buzzed. Selena’s father.
“Ethan,” his voice came, low and weary. “Selena… her mother and I spoiled her. She’s always been willful.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that tonight. On her behalf, I apologize.”
He hesitated, expecting a courteous reply.
I stayed silent.
He cleared his throat, his tone shifting—gentle at first, then probing.
“But Ethan, no matter how angry you were…”
“You shouldn’t have had someone break Lucas’s leg.”
“That was too much. If word spreads, it won’t look good for the Cole family, will it?”
A short, cold laugh escaped me. “Uncle Hart,” I cut him off, “which eye of yours saw me order that?”
There was a pause on the line—then his voice rose, laced with righteous certainty.
“Who else could it have been but you?”
“Come on, Ethan. Everyone knows. Lucas and Selena had just grown close when it happened.”
He scoffed. “No one’s stupid.”