A tense silence settled after Nicola's last remark. My breath hitched under the desk, the weight of their conversation pressing down on me. Finally, Abel's voice rumbled, laced with a weary anger.
"Watch your mouth, Nicola. Ava was deserving of respect, even in death."
"Even now you still take her side. A pity that you didn't do any of this when it mattered." Nicola scoffed. "She'll never be my sister, that much is certain, and it seems Alexander inherited his rebellious streak from you, clinging to…that girl like a life raft."
My eyes widened in shock.
A pause, then a low sigh from Abel. "Nicola, please it's enough," he conceded.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Nicola's voice dripped with hurt, the first time I'd ever heard that sort of emotion from her. "You were smitten with the mother, and Alexander with the daughter. Such a tragic twist of fate, wouldn't you say?"