(LIAM'S POV)
"I said, shut up!"
Vera's voice cracked across the room like a whip, and for the first time since she entered our lives, something ugly twisted through her features. Something personal. Something completely bitter.
"You think I don't know?" she hissed at Gilbert. "You think I don't know that you're in love with him?"
Gilbert went rigid.
I saw it—the way his whole body locked up, the way his face went pale and blank and careful, that terrible mask he always wore sliding into place. But his eyes gave him away. They always did.
Vera saw it too.
She laughed. "Oh, there it is. That face." Her eyes gleamed as she studied him. "You've hidden it so well, haven't you, Gilbert? All these years, right beside him. Playing the loyal little brother. The dependable friend. The tough little omega who doesn't need anyone and certainly doesn't ask for anything."
Her smile widened.
"But I saw you."
Gilbert remained silent.
