Ananias McLaren And her dear best friend

"Hello."

Luna turned around in her chair, still wrapped in Ananias's old LSU sweater.

"Oh, hello." Her smile remained calm, almost relieved.

"You saw the photos, right? They turned out great."

Ananias's gaze lingered on Angie Veronica's face before briefly shifting to the image on the monitor.

He knew.

"The photographer told us how to pose"

he said before Angie Veronica could ask anything.

"Luna felt uncomfortable doing everything alone, so I joined her for some things."

"Some?"

Luna looked towards the gallery counter near the bottom of the screen.

"There are about forty of us."

"Because you kept asking for more."

"They were pretty."

He said it without calculation, without shame.

As if the photographs hadn't already convinced half of his social media followers that Ananias had finally chosen the woman everyone assumed should have been there from the start, Ananias exhaled through his nose.

"Look, I already know what this probably looks like."

His jaw tightened.

"But it wasn't an engagement shoot. It was Luna's birthday. She wanted professional photos and I helped her."

Behind him, the monitor automatically switched to the next image.

Luna's arms were wrapped around his neck. Ananias's hands rested firmly on her waist. Their noses almost touched under a golden glow of sunset.

Luna looked at the screen again and made a slight grimace.

"Okay, that one does look a bit like a couple."

Ananias gave him an expressionless look.

"A bit?"

She laughed again, but the laughter faded when neither Ananias nor Angie Veronica joined in.

"I didn't mean anything by publishing them."

he said in a low voice.

"I was excited. It was my birthday session."

Ananias's eyes returned to Angie Veronica. His voice sharpened before the argument truly began.

"Nothing happened. So, can we please not blow this out of proportion?" she said, looking at Angie Veronica.

I speak.