[Hazel]
It was Elijah.
The breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding slipped out in a rush, and as he strode toward me with those steady, deliberate steps, the air in my lungs grew lighter. Like someone had finally started peeling the weight off my chest, layer by suffocating layer.
“There’s a reason appointments exist,” Elijah said as he came to a halt beside me, his tone cool and clipped like frost on glass. “It’s to prevent exactly this kind of issue.” He didn’t look at me. Not even a glance. His eyes were locked on Elisabeth’s, and the stare he gave her was devoid of mercy—sharp, unwavering, surgical. “Miss Addams,” he continued, voice slicing through the thick air between us, “don’t you think it’s a bit unfair to drop in unannounced and then turn around and blame others for not
