Bella's POV
Standing before the man I had desperately hoped to avoid forever, my knees threatened to buckle beneath me. That smile stretched across his face felt artificial, deliberately placed there like armor, and it made ice crawl down my spine.
Why hadn't he brought up Toby? Shouldn't that have been his opening statement? Was his only concern my sudden departure? I couldn't decipher his thoughts, and that uncertainty made everything infinitely worse. His gaze remained unreadable, frigid yet razor-sharp enough to cut straight through my defenses. My smartest move would be to end this quickly, abandon the partnership despite the consequences, and vanish.
Mateo's voice immediately exploded in my mind, his angry words echoing as though he stood right next to me.
He would never forgive this decision. Yesterday evening, when I sent him the email screenshot, his joy had been infectious, like someone announcing an unexpected holiday.
