Chapter 35

• "You think you know everything about me, Ava?" His voice was low, a tremor of something unfamiliar lacing the words. The Mayor, Rogan, was standing just a few steps away, his hands clenched at his sides as if he was trying to keep himself together. His jaw was set, the usual self-assurance gone, replaced by something raw—something real.
• I took a hesitant step forward, my heart pounding in my chest, unsure of what I was about to hear. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," I said, though even I could hear the hesitation in my voice. The tension between us was suffocating.
• Rogan’s eyes flashed briefly, almost as if he were considering something, before he finally spoke again. "You think I’m this… person, this villain in your life, right?" He chuckled bitterly, but there was no amusement in it. "But it’s not what you think, Ava. Not at all."