her gaze hardens as kate locks eyes with the eldest bridgerton son, his question slicing through the tension like a sharpened blade. though a source of comfort, his presence ignites a fire within her— of vexation, of furor. everything that makes an internal clock tick. "do i not wish to greet you?" she echoes, her voice laced with icy disdain. "what greeting is there for a man who has made it his mission to antagonize and undermine me at every turn?" her words are sharp, each syllable held as evidence to the simmering animosity that had come to define their relationship. where others may expect civility, none is due— there's always more to what meets the eye, though. the eldest sharma daughter also refuses to allow him to witness the effect his presence has on her; the way his mere proximity stirs emotions she had long sought to suppress. for her family, for edwina, for herself.