"Yes," she said, still wiping the corner of her eye with a manicured finger. "But we both need to accomplish a few things before we qualify to deserve each other."
Phei opened his mouth—
Her tone changed.
Like someone had flipped a switch and cut the power to the big-sister warmth. The woman sitting across from him was no longer the girl who had tried to pinch his cheeks.
She was the blade from the Maxton dining room. Cold. Precise. Lethal.
"Phei. The real reason I'm here is to deliver a message from Madam."
He sat back down. Slowly.
"Melissa was supposed to tell you this. But Mom thought it would be better if she delivered it herself.Through me of course."
She folded her hands on the table. Precise like she was about to say things that mattered and wanted her body to match the gravity.
"Madam is happy you've asserted your dominance on the Legacies. Punished some of them. Yes, it was impulsive—but good."
Phei nodded.
"But that's the end of it."
The words landed heavy.
