Security personnel approached, and though they were there to maintain order, it was clear they would not allow Charles to advance again.
As Charles was escorted toward the exit, he paused and looked back at Lillian with an expression hovering between fury and disbelief.
“You’ve humiliated me,” he said.
“No,” she replied, meeting his gaze. “You revealed yourself.”
The doors closed behind him, and the ballroom felt split along an invisible fault line, one side clinging to old hierarchies.