Before I could recover, Soren reached me.
His eyes were sunken, his jaw covered in stubble, and the whites of his eyes were veined red. He looked thinner, with none of his usual immaculate elegance.
"Elara Ashford."
He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice ragged, and caught my wrist so tightly that I thought the bones might break.
"How did you find me? Why are you here?" I stammered, trying to pull free. "The Ashford family doesn't want me, and you have your first love. Why do you care where I go?"
In the next instant, he dragged me against him. His arms locked around my waist so tightly that I could feel him trembling.
He buried his hot face against my neck.
"Who told you the Ashford family doesn't want you? Mom and Dad announced at the dance that they were going to end the adop
