Earlier, right after Genevieve pushed back her chair and excused herself from the table, Franklin didn't even wait for the echoes of her heels to fade before turning to Cassie.
His shoulders slumped, like he'd been holding up something heavy the entire meal and had only just been allowed to set it down.
"I'm really sorry," he said quietly. "I know this puts you in a weird spot, but… she has to know."
Cassie nodded, even though the corners of her mouth dipped and stayed there. Her fingers tightened around each other in her lap. "Playing pretend always comes with consequences," she said softly. "I already owe you a favor anyway."
Franklin frowned. The word pretend rubbed him the wrong way, scraped at something he hadn't figured out how to name yet. To him, none of this felt fak
