Chapter 14 The Unwanted Moment

• The gala had ended hours ago, but the storm outside hadn’t.
• Lightning forked across the night sky, and rain slammed against the glass walls of the Blackwood mansion like a second heartbeat. The air inside carried the same electricity—a pressure building, waiting to break.
• Elena moved quickly through the marble corridor, her heels clicking in uneven rhythm. Her pulse hadn’t calmed since the confrontation at the hotel ballroom. She could still hear the whispers, the gasps, the sound of Damian’s glass cracking in his hand.