The way he trailed off set her anxiety skyrocketing again, and that pause before he finished didn't help. Not even his statement of being proud of her was able to calm her nerves, and she was sure he'd noticed how strained her smile was. Perhaps not, if she was lucky, but she wasn't usually lucky.

Should she just come out and say it? Would bringing up whatever this was fix anything, or would it bring ruin that much quicker to her door? She cut off a piece of her omelet, separating the cheese from the egg with the tines of her fork, and--

"What is it?" There was fear in her voice and she hated it.