Inside the study, a solemn atmosphere fell over the three of them like a heavy curtain. Albert Ramsy sat stiffly in his chair, rubbing the deep lines etched into his wrinkled forehead. "So you tell me you knew this for over two months?" His voice was filled with both disbelief and disappointment. "And you didn't tell us?"
Micah stood a few steps away, ashamed. His head dropped low, his expression hidden beneath his messy hair.
"Don't be harsh on him," Zhou Ruyan interjected firmly. "He is a child. What did you expect him to do? Come running excitedly to announce that he was not one of us?"
Her tone was sharp, protective, almost like a mother bear standing in front of her cub.
"I mean.. I didn't mean it like that." Albert said, frustrated with himself.
He took a deep breath and stood up. Once his steady steps, the kind that commanded respect in any room, had turned shaky. Even so, he walked across the room until he stood right in front of Micah.
