The moment Bonnie blurted, "If it's Audrey, then I want her!" the very air inside the car seemed to still—thickening, tightening, as if even the engine held its breath.
Her words hit harder than any blow could.
She hadn't just invited Audrey to some parent-child field day. No… this was deeper. This was about her mother, a wound Audrey had carefully avoided reopening.
Bonnie rarely mentioned her, but when she did, something old and cold stirred in Dorian's aura—a shadow Audrey tried never to touch.
Dorian's voice cut through the silence, firm and steady. "Bonnie, don't be rude. Audrey's leg is still healing, and you don't know if she has prior engagements."
Audrey's gaze flicked to him. Did it make him angry? It made sense—no one would really want a stranger to replace the mother of his child on a whim. Had Bonnie's question clawed at some buried memory? Something about her mother… something painful. Something he never spoke of.
