ONE YEAR AGO — The Night Everything Changed
Elira didn’t remember falling.
She only remembered the impact.
Damien’s words had broken something deeper than bones. His silence had finished the rest. He didn’t strike her with fists—but sometimes a man could kill you with what he didn’t say, with how quickly he turned away.
And that night, when the world blurred and her body gave out, someone caught her.
Not Damien.
Soren.
Back then, she didn’t even know his name. Just strong arms. Cold eyes. A voice like smoke. He didn’t ask questions. He just pulled her off the cold floor and carried her away from the mansion Damien had locked her out of.
“Let me go,” she had whispered.
But Soren didn’t.
“You don’t want to go back there,” he had said flatly. “Not tonight.”
She woke up in his bed t
