Aria
"I always feel so alive when I sneak out," Elena said excitedly sipping her juice. The second glass since we started eating. Her face glowed with a mischievous smile. "It's like for once, I get to breathe. To be me. My father doesn't even know I've gotten this far... usually, he finds a way to drag me back before an hour passes. But now..." She glanced around. "It's been almost an hour, and nothing. No one has come."
Her excitement was almost childlike, the kind of happiness you'd expect from someone tasting freedom once in a while.
I tried to match her smile, but my focus kept slipping back to the phone in my hand. Kaden texted me that Ethan was having a word with Elena's father.
Their conversation could spiral to anything.
I lifted my gaze, scanning the restaurant. The men Et
