Dante paused.
It was only a very small pause. Barely half a second. A tiny hesitation that most people would have missed.
But the pause was enough.
Alina noticed it instantly.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Dee."
He cleared his throat quietly, adjusting his glasses in a gesture that was definitely not nervous.
"To be honest," he said slowly, choosing his words with great care, "yes."
Alina blinked once, then twice.
"Yes?" she repeated.
"Yes."
She stared at him like she had just discovered something shocking, like he had admitted to collecting her hair or something equally strange.
"You watched me teach my class?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Occasionally."
Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline.
"Occasionally?"
"Yes."
"How many times is occasionally?" she demanded.
Dante looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to calculate something complicated. His eyes drifted toward the ceiling briefly.
"Several," he answered calmly.
Alina's jaw dropped slightly.
"Several?!"
