(LARA POV)
Yesterday.
It had started yesterday.
Lara had thought the moment she signed that ridiculous glitter-drenched "winter peace treaty," the room would fracture.
She had thought Michelle would refuse.
She had thought Steven would refuse harder.
She had thought they would look at her the way people looked at someone who had already crossed a moral line and fallen off a cliff.
And, to be fair — she would have deserved it.
But Michelle…
Michelle had taken the pen.
And smiled.
That smile had been worse than anger.
--
Today, Lara walked two steps behind the other girls, hands tucked into her coat sleeves, eyes fixed loosely on the marble floor of the mall as Kate led them forward with the confidence of someone conducting a joyful military expedition.
"Alright, remember," Kate announced, clapping once, "we are here for Secret Santa, winter survival outfits, and emotional retail therapy. In that order."
