The room quieted just slightly, enough for his gaze to settle on me.
For the flicker of surprise to cross his features—so fleeting it might have been imagined.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone.
Masked beneath the cold veneer of a man who wielded control like a weapon.
“Please, stay.”His voice was smooth, casual—a well-played move in a game where every word carried intent.He gestured toward the grand staircase beyond the door.“We have lovely accommodations upstairs.”
A calculated offer.
A leash disguised as hospitality.
“No, thank you.”My refusal was firm, my intent unshaken.
“I appreciate your generosity, but I have secured lodging elsewhere.However, I will return tomorrow to discuss our plan more.”
The words were carefully chosen, maintaining the delicate facade of a guest—when, in truth, I was anything but.
A silent beat stretched between us.
Then, with a curt nod, I excused myself, stepping away from the smoky sanctuary and its denizens lost in their revelry.
The fresh air of the foyer met me like a balm, a welcome reprieve from the suffocating chamber of cigars and secrets.
Then—
A flicker of white.
Through the ornate window, her silhouette was unmistakable.
Elizabeth.
Wandering through the garden, her figure ghostlike beneath the moon’s silver glow.
She moved like someone untethered, lost in a world that no longer belonged to her.
A prisoner without chains.
My chest tightened.
How I yearned—to have shielded her from the indignity she had suffered, to have been her advocate amidst the throng of wolves.
But I had stood in silence.
And that silence seared through me.
With a final glance at the window—now clouded by the shifting shadows of the night—I made an impulsive decision.
She needed someone.
And despite every instinct screaming for caution, despite the weight of my purpose pressing against me like an iron chain?—
I committed to be that person.
Stepping across the threshold, the crisp night air bit against my skin—a stark contrast to the suffocating warmth I had left behind.
I welcomed it.
