Chapter 471:

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The room was not large, but it was arranged with restrained elegance. Warm wood tones softened the space, drawing the eye toward the table at the center.

One wall was made entirely of glass, revealing the glittering night skyline of Dafson, while the other side opened toward a minimalist courtyard garden.

After removing their coats, Joslyn and Connor settled into their seats.

“Have some hot coffee.” Connor nudged the cup the server had just poured toward her.

Joslyn curled her fingers around the warm ceramic cup and took a few small sips. The coffee was rich with a faint bitterness, and as it slipped down her throat, its heat slowly spread through her chilled body, easing the discomfort by a little.

The menu was handwritten on a single thick card. Most of the dishes were seafood, with raw bar selections, oysters, and chilled lobster taking up nearly the entire list. Only a few grilled fish dishes and one roasted chicken option offered any variation.

The bisque was the only dish that seemed warm enough to be comforting, but even that was made from a chilled shellfish base.

𝖱𝖾𝘢d 𝗼ո 𝖺n𝗒 d𝗲vі𝖼e 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘢𝗅ո𝗈𝗏𝗲𝗅𝗌.𝘤o𝗆

Joslyn’s gaze swept over the elegant lettering, and her stomach tightened with a cold, hollow pang.

Chilled shrimp cocktail with horseradish sauce, raw oysters on the half shell, tuna seared so lightly it was nearly still raw, and even the onion soup, which sounded warm at first glance, would arrive sealed beneath a molten layer of cheese, hiding a broth that would do little to ease the ache twisting inside her.

With each breath, her lower abdomen tightened in slow, steady waves. Joslyn knew exactly what would happen if she forced herself to swallow any of that cold, slippery food.

Connor was studying the menu with serious attention. When he looked up, his gaze caught the tight line of her pressed lips. “Is there anything in particular you would like to try? The oysters are supposed to be excellent, or we could order the grilled branzino.”

A few paces away, the server waited in silence, ready to take down whatever they decided.

Joslyn’s fingers curled lightly against her knee.

The dining room was quiet, almost too quiet, and all at once, exhaustion settled over her. Not the kind that weighed on the body, but the deeper kind that came from constantly forcing herself through discomfort just to make things easier for everyone else.

Why was she making herself endure this simply to avoid ruining the evening?

Connor would never want that from her. If he knew she was sitting there fighting through cramps while facing a table full of raw, chilled dishes she could barely stomach, he would only blame himself. He would think he had been careless, that he had failed to consider her properly.

That was not the way she wanted them to be together, and she knew it was not what he wanted either.

If she could not even be honest with him about something as simple as needing warm food, then what was the point of saying they would face everything together?

“Connor,” she said.

He looked up at once.

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