As soon as the words left the tip of my tongue, a gasp louder than the one before erupted from the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. They were watching us with eyes full of shock and surprise as their lips were left agape, struggling to comprehend the words that they had just heard spew out of my mouth.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Jennifer glaring at me with narrowed eyes, disdain written all over her face. Natalie looked calm as always while James' eyes grew as wide as the size of a saucer. He clutched onto his chest and stumbled back a couple of steps when his wife caught him, holding him up.
The entire ballroom fell silent in a split second as the air crackled with unspoken tension for what seemed like an eternity but in reality, only lasted no longer than a couple of seconds.