---- Chapter 8 When I opened my eyes again, everything around me was bathed in cold, sterile white. The sharp scent of antiseptic pierced my senses like a silent alarm. Standing beside the bed, hands buried in the pockets of his coat, was Tyler. He looked down at me from above, expression unreadable, like a man observing something faintly inconvenient. When he saw I was awake, his eyebrows lifted slightly. "You really like Charles that much?" I parted my lips, trying to find the right words. But when my eyes met his, an odd flicker of guilt rose within me, uninvited. In Kingsford, the Ford family held unquestioned power. And Tyler-he was the eldest grandson, the heir apparent. Years ago, his decision to study ---- medicine had caused a sensation across the city. Every major news outlet, social platform, and magazine had latched onto it. For over a month, his face dominated the headlines, discussed with a mix of reverence and disbelief. That someone like Tyler-brilliant, distant, almost mythic-would ever call Charles a friend was something I never could have imagined. But unlike that crowd around Charles, he never mocked me. Never laughed, never sneered. He would just stand there with his usual cool detachment, watching as if none of it truly concerned him. This was the first time he had spoken so directly, so sharply, about what was between me and Charles. "Hard to answer?" he asked, his tone dry. "Or do you think it's shameful? Mindy, what is it about someone like Charles that you could possibly love? " ---- I said nothing. He leaned in. One hand braced on the edge of the bed, his body closing in slowly, eyes fixed on mine with unnerving focus. As if this was a question he needed answered. As if it mattered to him more than he wanted to admit. "You're his friend, aren't you?" I said, my voice steady. "So?" he replied, raising an eyebrow again. "So if you believe Charles isn't a good person," I asked, "why are you friends with him?" He went silent. For along moment, he just stared at me, as if trying to decipher something he didn't quite understand himself. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, my phone began to ring.