The air inside Vale Studio felt different after Hana left — heavy, expectant, like even the walls were waiting for Lian's next breath.
The monitors were still flashing the announcement from his old agency:
SUSPENSION UNDER INVESTIGATION — BREACH OF CONTRACT — LEGAL ACTION PENDING
Rian slammed the power button, and every screen in the room went dark.
He turned back to Lian, chest rising and falling too fast.
"Don't read their garbage," he muttered.
But Lian already had.
He felt it in every muscle — a cold dread seeping under his skin, tightening his throat, squeezing around his heart.
"It's real now," he whispered. "They're really going to sue me."
Rian stepped closer. "We'll handle it—"
"We?" Lian's voice cracked. "Rian, you don't owe me anything. You don't have to keep—"
Rian's hands curled into fists. "Stop saying that."
