CHERYL’S POV
The air around me stilled as my eyes locked on Aiden. It was as if the world had slowed down, leaving just the two of us in this unbearable tension. He stood there, stiff yet poised, his arm resting lightly on Anika’s, but his gaze… his gaze pinned me in place. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
I should’ve looked away. I really should’ve, but there was something in those dark eyes that held me captive, something unreadable that twisted a knot deep in my chest.
“Come on,” Damon’s voice cut through the haze, his hand resting on the small of my back. He urged me forward, but the weight of Aiden’s stare clung to me like a second skin.
We stepped closer, and suddenly, there was no avoiding it. We met halfway. Aiden and Anika stopped just a few feet away, and the air felt like
