Chapter 200

• ELORA
• The second we stepped into the living room, I could feel the air thicken. Not the kind of air you could breathe easily—this was the kind that pressed into your chest, heavy, charged, demanding attention. It wrapped itself around my lungs and squeezed. With every step Rowen and I took into the Grayson estate, the weight grew heavier, more suffocating.
• Rowen’s hand remained on the small of my back. Firm. Warm. Possessive. His touch was a silent claim in front of people who would dissect every move, every glance, every breath I took. It was his way of saying I belonged next to him. But even as my body responded to his nearness, my mind reeled. Because the truth was, I didn’t feel like I belonged here.