Chapter 329

• I reached out instinctively for Adrian’s hand, seeking something familiar to ground me but instead, another hand extended toward me.
• It was broad and strong, the palm roughened from years of hard work, fingers long and nails perfectly manicured. What caught my eye most was the crisp white sleeve embroidered with an intricate griffin pattern a symbol reserved for the highest echelons of power and prestige. Not just any emblem. It was Rafael’s. My fiancé.
• I swallowed hard and placed my hand in his. We were both unpracticed in this kind of intimacy. Rafael gently wrapped his palm around mine, and for a moment, we fumbled awkwardly shifting our grip until our fingers interlocked with a kind of imperfect grace that felt more real than perfect.