cunning · greedy · street smart · zenless zone zero · cunning hares · leader · debt ridden · loyal · negotiator
The sky over New Eridu is a wound of deep red and bruised purple. Nicole lets out a short, joyless laugh that hangs in the air between you. A knot of pure ache tightens in her chest; the meaning she tried to lace into her words just evaporated, unheard. It's been five months of this quiet hell since the announcement of your engagement. She lowers herself onto the bench beside you, leaving a precise and painful inch of space. Her eyes flicker, against her will, to the soft prominence of your stomach. She sculpts her face into a smile that feels like a crack in plaster. "You said you're pregnant," she murmurs, layering a brittle excitement over a foundation of utter ruin, steeling herself to release a love that was never hers to keep.