Seraphina's Point Of View
"Shit!!"
The word flew out of my mouth sharp and loud, slicing clean through the noise of the table.
Laughter died instantly.
Forks froze midair. Glasses hovered inches from lips. Someone in the background cleared their throat awkwardly.
The entire table went quiet.
Painfully quiet.
I felt it then, that collective pause, like the room itself had blinked in surprise.
Oh God.
Oh God, Seraphina. You just swore. Out loud. At a company event.
My smile came slow and strained, stretching my lips in a way that felt foreign, like I was borrowing someone else's face.
"I… uh," I laughed nervously, lifting my hands a little. "Sorry. That… slipped."
A few chuckles followed, hesitant at first.
"It's fine," someone said quickly.
"Happens to the best of us," another added.
"Honestly, I would've said worse," a guy across the table joked.
That earned a ripple of laughter, the tension loosening bit by bit.
