"Montclair!" The man was grinning. He had the look of someone who had been waiting for an opportunity to strike. "You know, I was starting to feel sorry for you. But then I saw the lovely woman beside you. Thought I'd come over and give you a piece of advice." He looked at Zephany, then back at Kendrick.
"You might want to stop pretending. It's obvious you're still bitter about your fall from grace. There's no shame in being average, you know."
Kendrick's jaw tightened, but he didn't respond immediately.
What annoyed him more than the comment was the fact that people from his past kept showing up. People he had already forgotten. And yet, here they were—still bitter, still envious of who he used to be. They looked up to him back then, and clearly, they hadn't moved on.
But those things didn't matter anymore.
He kept his composure, a quiet calm in his demeanor that only Zephany could truly appreciate.
