Chapter 81

• ELLE
• The sound of the waiter’s polite cough snapped me back to the present. My hands were trembling around my phone, my heart pounding so loud it almost drowned out the chatter around me. I could still feel the weight of humiliation pressing against my chest.
• My eyes burned as I tried to steady my breathing, forcing a shaky smile toward the waiter, who was doing his best to be patient. “Just… give me another minute,” I murmured, though my voice cracked halfway through the sentence.