"So what do you want to talk about?" Anna asked once the plates were cleared away and the lingering heaviness in her head had finally faded.
She turned fully to face him, drawing one knee up on the bed. The mont Daniel sighed, slow and deliberate, sothing uneasy tightened in her stomach. He only did that when the subject wasn’t going to be pleasant.
"It’s about Betty," he said.
Anna stilled.
"Last night, after she left the bar, she was stalked by Theo."
Her eyes went wide instantly. "Theo?" The na tasted bitter on her tongue.
Daniel nodded, watching her closely. "Yes. From what Shawn gathered, he’s been keeping an eye on her for a while now. Following her routine. Last night he tried to—"
He didn’t get to finish.
Anna had already yanked the duvet aside and swung her legs off the bed, adrenaline surging through her veins. "Where is she?" she demanded, panic sharpening her voice.
Before she could take even one step, Daniel caught her wrist firmly. Not rough, but unyielding.
"She’s fine," he said quickly. "Shawn was there. He stepped in before anything worse could happen."
Anna froze.
She turned to look at him, really look at him, her eyes already shimring with dread as her mind raced through every terrible possibility. The relief that Betty was safe ca crashing in, but it didn’t erase the fear that followed close behind.
Slowly, her strength drained out of her. She let Daniel guide her back, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. A shallow breath escaped her lips as she dragged a hand down her face.
"I asked her to join for drinks," she said quietly. "She ca because of ."
Her mory of the night was fractured at best. She rembered Betty leaving early, rembered Kathrine tagging along later, and then nothing but blurred laughter and darkness. And now this. This was how she found out.
Her jaw tightened. "I knew sothing was off," she continued, anger and guilt twisting together. "When she said she’d be working under Kevin. I tried to talk to her, Daniel. I really did. But she brushed off, said it was what she wanted."
She clenched her fists in her lap. "I should’ve pushed harder."
Daniel moved closer, his hand settling over hers, warm and grounding. He didn’t interrupt, letting her get it out.
"I’ve been so busy cleaning up everyone else’s ss," Anna went on, her voice cracking despite her effort to stay composed. "I didn’t see what was happening right in front of ."
She looked up at him then, eyes dark with fury. "Theo bullied her back in the academy. Made her life hell. And now this?" Her lips trembled. "I want him punished."
Daniel’s thumb brushed slow circles over the back of her hand. "Shawn already took care of that," he said calmly. "Theo won’t be walking free anyti soon. He’s been detained, and this ti there’s enough evidence to make sure he serves real punishnt."
Anna exhaled, shaky but relieved. "Good."
She leaned back slightly, resting her head against the headboard, staring at the ceiling. "I’m glad Shawn was there," she whispered. "I don’t know what I’d do if sothing happened to her."
Daniel’s grip tightened just a little. "Nothing happened," he repeated firmly. "Because she’s not alone. She never was."
Anna turned to him, her expression softening beneath the lingering anger. "Is there anything else you want to talk about" she asked.
Daniel paused, his gaze lingering on her curious eyes. There was sothing tugging at him, a question he wanted to ask but wasn’t sure he should.
He wondered how much of what she and Kathrine had talked about was real, and why the conversation hadn’t felt like casual, aningless chatter. It had felt... personal. Too personal to be brushed aside as drunken rambling.
But he held back.
He didn’t want to sound paranoid, didn’t want to corner Anna into digging through fragnts of a night she clearly didn’t rember. Forcing her to recall sothing she wasn’t ready for would only make things worse.
"Nothing," he said finally, masking his thoughts as he gave her a small, unreadable smile.
"Are you sure?" Anna asked again, narrowing her eyes at him. "Because the way you’re ignoring my eyes says otherwise."
She leaned closer, clearly unconvinced.
Daniel had always been terrible at pretending nothing was wrong, and she knew it. She always did. The slight stiffness in his shoulders, the way his jaw tightened just a fraction too much when he sighed.
All of it scread that he was holding back.
Daniel t her gaze then, properly this ti. And the more he looked at her, the more he realized how dangerous Anna could be without even trying.
Unraveling people ca naturally to her. It was in the way she asked questions like she already knew the answer, in the way she waited patiently for you to slip.
He exhaled slowly. "Will you believe if I say you were talking about past life stuff," he said, pausing deliberately, "and accusing your sister of sothing that made absolutely no sense?"
He muttered the last part, as if that alone would soften the impact.
And the effect was imdiate because Anna froze.
Her brows shot up, her lips parted, and for a split second all the color drained from her face before she caught herself. "W-what did I say?" she stuttered, suddenly very alert. Too alert.
Daniel watched her closely, far more closely than he let on.
The shift was subtle but unmistakable. Just monts ago she had been teasing him, relaxed and playful. Now her posture had straightened, her eyes darting briefly away before returning to his face, guarded.
Sothing clicked inside him.
That reaction wasn’t confusion. It was fear wrapped in humor, instinctively trying to defend itself.
He raised a brow. "Relax," he said dryly. "You didn’t confess to a murder or anything."
Anna let out a nervous laugh. "That’s... comforting. I think."
Daniel tilted his head slightly, studying her. "You kept saying," he continued calmly, "that in so past life, your sister stole sothing that belonged to you. That she always does. Your words, not mine."
Anna blinked. "I said that?"
"You did." He nodded once. "Very passionately, I might add. You also pointed at an empty chair like it personally offended you."
She stared at him for two seconds longer than necessary before bursting out laughing. "Oh my God," she said, clutching her stomach. "I was drunk-drunk."
Daniel folded his arms. "That’s your defense?"
"Absolutely." She wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye. "Past life? Accusing my sister? Co on, Daniel. That’s just alcohol mixed with imagination."
"Mm," he humd. "Funny how specific your imagination is."
Anna waved him off. "Everyone gets dramatic when they drink. So people cry about exes. So people sing. Apparently, I... start fictional sibling wars across lifetis."
She laughed again, louder this ti, deliberately careless.
Daniel didn’t smile.
"You also said," he added evenly, "that you can’t forgive her for what she did to you"
Her laughter faltered for half a second.
She recovered quickly. "Wow," she said, clapping sarcastically. "Drunk sounds exhausted. Soone should get her a vacation."
Daniel’s eyes never left her face. "And then," he continued, ignoring her attempt to brush it off, "you said you were tired of pretending not to rember."
Anna stared at him as the silence stretched.
Then she scoffed and leaned back against the headboard, shaking her head. "Daniel, if you’re trying to psychoanalyze my drunken nonsense, you’re giving it way too much credit."
"I’m not psychoanalyzing," he replied. "I’m repeating what I lip-read."
She smiled at him, bright and unbothered. Too bright. "Well, congratulations," she said lightly. "You’ve officially proven that drunk Anna is poetic and dramatic. Add it to my list of talents."
Daniel sighed, rubbing his temple. "You’re laughing it off very easily."
"Because it’s funny," she shot back. "What do you want to do? Panic? Spiral? Start questioning reality because I said weird things while intoxicated?"
She leaned closer, poking his chest. "If we took everything said while drunk seriously, half the world would be in therapy."
Daniel caught her wrist gently, not to stop her, but to ground her. "You didn’t sound like you were joking."
Anna t his eyes, her smile softening just a little. "Daniel," she said quietly, "not everything that sounds true is ant to be unpacked."
For a mont, he thought she might say more.
Then she shrugged, pulling her hand free. "Besides," she added with a grin, "if my past life really had sibling issues, at least I’m consistent. That’s growth."
Despite himself, Daniel chuckled. "You’re impossible."
"I prefer resilient," she corrected, smirking. "Now, are you done lip-reading my imaginary cris, or should I be worried about what I confess next ti I drink?"
He shook his head, amused but still thoughtful. "I’ll make sure you don’t drink next ti."
Anna grinned mischievously. "Good luck with that."
But as she turned away, her laughter faded just enough for Daniel to notice.
And this ti, he didn’t miss it because he knew whatever she said was true and that wasn’t so drunk talk.
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