Page 223 of The Bittersweet Bond

Milka froze mid-motion. "What?!"

Evin flinched slightly when Milka smacked the table. The ketchup on her fry teetered dangerously close to the edge of the little cardboard tray. "Say that again."

She grinned, feeling her heart beat a little faster. "The Royal Academy of Dance offered me a spot in their summer camp. Ms. Wagner told me after the performance."

"Oh my gosh!" Milka scooted forward as if getting physically closer would make the news more real. "This is huge, Evin! London! Are you messing with me right now?"

"I swear, I didn’t make it up."

"And?" Milka gasped. "Are you going?"

Evin opened hermouth, then closed it again. "I don’t know yet."

Milka’s brows furrowed. "What do you mean, you don’t know?"

"I just… I never really thought about doing something like this. It came out of nowhere."

"Evin, this isn’t something you hesitate about. This is London. This is a massive opportunity."

"I know."

"So?" Bellamy chimed in, raising a brow. "What’s stopping you?"

Evin hesitated. "I… I don’t know. I think I just need some time to figure it out."

"What’s there to figure out?" Milka leaned back against the booth, arms crossed. "This is the freaking Royal Academy! It’s not like they’re offering you a week at some summer camp in Wisconsin."

"Milka."

Bas’ voice was calm, but it cut through the excitement like a sharp blade.

Milka rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I’m just excited. But you can’t tell me this isn’t insane?" She shot a look at Bellamy, who only shrugged.

"Of course, it’s insane," he said before taking a bite of his fry.

Evin suddenly felt a pair of eyes on her and turned her head.

Bas had been quiet the entire time. He just sat there, his arm draped lazily over the back of the booth, his thumb tracing the rim of his glass. His face was unreadable—too unreadable. He was looking at her. And she couldn’t tell what was going through his mind.

"London, huh?" he said finally.

Evin nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Crazy." He leaned back, as if that was the end of the conversation.

For a moment, a silence stretched between them.

And then, Bas set his phone aside, took a sip of his Coke, and said with that same casual tone:

"By the way, I got an internship in New York."

Bellamy raised his brows. Milka stopped fidgeting with her napkin.

Evin blinked.

"What?"

"Yeah." He shrugged like it was no big deal. "My dad helped me get it. It’s at an investment firm. All summer. Good opportunity."

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