The room was thick with tension.
Avery’s chest heaved, eyes blazing, fists clenched at her sides. Elias leaned against the dresser, jaw tight, hands twitching like he wanted to strike—or claim. The air between them crackled, charged with rage, desire, and the unspoken truth neither wanted to admit: they couldn’t stay apart.
“You think you can just send me away?” Avery spat, voice sharp as a whip. “You think I’ll let him control me? Control us?”
Elias’s eyes darkened, black and stormy. “I don’t need him to control you! You’re mine, Avery! Do you even understand what that means?”
“I’m not yours!” she shot back, tears welling. “I’m me! And I can’t keep doing this—this danger, this… obsession! It’s insane!”
“And yet,” he said, stepping closer, voice low, dangerous, “you still come back. Y
