The moment the door clicked shut, Eva turned.
Not with a smirk. Not with a tease.
But with that tight, stillness that made the room feel smaller.
She didn't even sit. She stood by his desk, one hip cocked, arms folded beneath her chest, pushing the fabric of her top upward with each shallow breath.
"You knew," she said.
Lor kept his back to the door for half a second longer, then pushed off it calmly.
"Knew what?"
"That the top-three promotion thing was a lie," Eva said, eyes locked on his. "You and Olivia learned it from Silvia. And you didn't tell me."
Silence.
Olivia sat lightly on the chair, legs crossed, her hands resting nervously in her lap. She bit her bottom lip.
"I… I told her," Olivia said quietly.
Eva didn't look at her. Her eyes stayed on Lor. "I thought we were working together."
Lor met her stare evenly. "We are."
"Then why the hell did I have to hear it from Olivia? After everything I did, I let you do to me, you didn't think I deserved to know?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He stepped toward his desk, slowly—casually—as if retrieving a book.
"Because I didn't think you'd want to hear it right after scoring a ten," he said finally.
Eva blinked. "What?"
"You were proud," Lor said, facing her now. "First time I've seen you that proud. You thought you were moving forward. I didn't want to crush that."
Eva's mouth opened slightly. But no words came.
"I figured," he went on, "if you heard it from Silvia later—if it came naturally—you'd trust it more. You'd be pissed at the system instead of at me."
"That's not your choice to make," Eva snapped.
"No," he agreed. "But I made it anyway."
That stopped her.
She stared at him. Her arms hadn't moved, but her posture had. Less aggressive. More… confused.
"You think I couldn't handle the truth?" she asked, quieter now.
"I think you were so close to believing in something again," Lor said. "And I didn't want to take that away."
There was a long silence. Olivia looked down at her hands.
Eva exhaled sharply through her nose, muttering, "You're an ass."
"But not a stupid one," Lor said.
She snorted.
He leaned back against the desk, his eyes fixed on her. "Do you hate me for it?"
Eva didn't answer.
But she didn't leave either.
That was enough.
Across the room, Olivia spoke. "We shouldn't be fighting. We all want the same thing now."
Eva glanced at her. "You're right."
She looked back at Lor. "I don't trust you. Not yet. But I trust what you can do."
That made him smile—small, sharp, and just a bit smug.
"That's good enough," he said. "For now."
Eva rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched.
Behind her, Olivia spoke up again, her voice quiet. "We can't let this get out."
Eva turned slightly, nodding. "No one can know what you're doing. Not Kiara, not Myra, no one."
"They wouldn't understand," Olivia said. "And if the wrong person hears…"
"They'll come for you," Eva said, looking at Lor again. "They'll try to take you. Own you."
"Or make you disappear," Olivia added. "Miss Silvia hinted at it. Rare talent like yours? Hidden in Class D? It wouldn't be left alone for long."
Eva stepped forward again, eyes narrowing. "So from now on — no more showing off. No more talking. No more coin tricks in front of the wrong people."
"No more rituals for just anyone," Olivia added.
"Only the ones we choose," Eva said.
Lor blinked once. "We?"
Eva didn't answer that.
Lor smiled slightly.
He didn't need to say anything else.
The girls had said it for him.