A SICKENING SOUND [II]

"You are overreacting, Roselyn," he muttered, trying to reach for her arm, but she stepped back sharply before he could touch her, and the cold look she gave his hand made his own slowly retreat to his side. "It was a mistake. I don't know what came over me."

"You liar," her lips curled in disgust, but beneath the anger there was hurt now, visible in the slight trembling of her voice as she looked at him like she no longer recognized the man standing before her. "I defended you for so long because I thought you were misunderstood, but this..." Her eyes briefly drifted toward me before settling back on him. "One day you will do worse to someone you claim to love, and I refuse to wait around until that person becomes me."

"Roselyn, listen to me..."

"No," her voice cut through him instantly. "You stay away from me."

Silence swallowed the space between them, heavy enough that even the nearby customers had stopped pretending not to stare, whispers rising quietly between tables as Daniel stood there breathing hard, humiliation and fury twisting together across his face. Then his eyes shifted toward me before finally locking onto Jace, and something dark, wounded and dangerous flickered, his hands curling tightly into fists before he stormed past us and disappeared after Roselyn.

The tension he left behind lingered heavily in the air.

"Are you okay?" Jace asked immediately, turning toward me as his hand lifted carefully toward my face, but I flinched before he could touch me, instinctively stepping back, and he paused halfway, lowering his hand slowly instead of forcing the contact.

"Okay... it's fine. I just wanted to know if you're hurt."

"I'm fine, sir," I murmured, lowering my eyes despite trying not to, and an awkward silence settled between us before I bent slightly in apology, but Jace caught my arm before I could kneel fully and pulled me back upright.

"Forgive me, sir, I never meant to do that..." I started quickly.

"Hey," his voice dropped softer, but there was still authority in it, enough to stop my panic immediately. "We all make mistakes."

I swallowed hard while he studied me quietly, and although his expression remained calm, there was something restrained beneath, dangerous enough that I suddenly understood why Daniel had backed down the moment Jace stepped in earlier.

"He had every right to be upset about the clothes," Jace continued, though his tone carried little sympathy for Daniel now. "But laying his hands on you was crossing a line, especially inside my establishment." His gaze hardened slightly before settling back on me. "I won't tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone again, no matter who they are, but you and the others still need to be careful. I can only protect you when you are not at fault."

"Sure, sir," I replied softly with a small bow of my head, and he exhaled quietly, almost like he was fighting his own patience.

"I warned you about the formalities already." The corner of his mouth lifted faintly. "My name is Jace."

"O-okay... boss," I stammered, unable to hold his gaze for long, and he gave a helpless shake of his head before his attention drifted somewhere behind me. I turned slightly and found Ivy standing near the staff entrance with wide eyes and an expression that screamed she had overheard far more than she was supposed to. The moment our gazes met, she spun around and vanished into the staff area so quickly that I nearly laughed despite everything that had happened.