Jessica was drunk on power, that much was clear.
It wasn't just the way she was speaking. It was the way she moved like the world belonged to her, like she had just descended from a throne and the rest of them were meant to clap. Cecilia could feel her skin crawl just listening to the arrogance in Jessica's voice, the sly way she pretended to "include" them in a dinner they didn't ask her to join. And now she was using Giovanni's name like a weapon… mocking her. Right to her face.
She could see it, Jessica wasn't just trying to show off.
She was trying to humiliate her.
Cecilia's thoughts raced. She was about to open her mouth, ready to shut the whole thing down with a sharp, firm no. There was absolutely no way she was going to sit through a dinner with Jessica and let her treat her like she was a guest in her own life.
But before a single word could come out.
