**Elena’s POV**
Dante didn't stop. He didn't even slow down. He kept hauling me deeper into the dark parking lot.
My arm burned where his fingers dug into me. My heels slipped on the uneven asphalt, making me stumble every few feet. The parking lot felt endless, with row after row of dark cars, and the music from the ballroom was now distant, as if it belonged to another world.
I thought he would shove me into one of the cars, but he didn’t.
He kept pulling me farther away.
My legs began to shake, and my calves screamed. Every step felt heavier than the last. I tried to twist free, my breath coming out in sharp, broken gasps.
“Dante,” I wheezed, my chest rattling. “Please. Stop. I can’t... I can’t keep up.”
He stopped abruptly, spinning around to face me. He looked down at me with a
