"Is this seat taken?"
I glanced up from my menu to find a familiar face watching me. The years had been kind to Tristan Monroe—his suit was expensive, his haircut professionally styled. But his eyes were exactly the same as they'd been in college—cold and calculating.
"It's all yours," I replied, gesturing casually to the empty chair across from me.
No.1 Restaurant buzzed with the quiet conversation of Havenwood City's elite. Crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow over white tablecloths and polished silverware. It wasn't the kind of place where I used to belong. But things had changed.
Tristan lowered himself into the chair, studying me with undisguised contempt. "You know, I almost didn't recognize you, Knight. You're looking... different."
"Time changes people," I said simply.
"Not that much." His lips curled into a smirk. "Once a nobody, always a nobody."
