Chapter 225: Held by Hatred
One sentence poured ice over the part of Serena that had almost softened.
The reversal nearly made her choke.
Worse, it made perfect sense.
Of course Elias had not held her wrist because he wanted her to stay. Of course that sweet, low invitation had not been tenderness. It had been a reminder, sharpened and placed exactly where it would hurt.
When Serena looked at his slightly parted lips again, they no longer seemed tempting.
They looked mocking.
He was reminding her of everything she had done to him. The contract she had never truly destroyed. The arrangement that had been rotten from the first line. The relationship that had begun wrong and somehow found a way to keep getting worse.
Serena forced down the pain twisting through her chest.
Her face went expressionless, cold and beautiful in the way a statue could be beautiful if someone locked it behind glass.
"Sleep," she said. "We'll talk about that later."
Elias saw the escape at once.
