Naomi’s pov :
The clock on my nightstand mocked me with its relentless ticking, two days left. Just forty-eight hours until Darius's ultimatum shattered everything.
Panic clawed at my chest like a living thing, squeezing tighter with every breath. I'd barely slept again last night, visions of my father's battered face blending with Elias's trusting smiles, leaving me hollow and trembling. The bond hummed faintly, a cruel tether pulling me toward the man I was supposed to kill. How did it come to this?
Love, yes, I could admit it now, in the quiet terror of my mind, warred with duty, turning every thought into agony. To avoid Elias, I feigned illness, curling up in bed with the curtains drawn, claiming a migraine that wasn't entirely a lie. The headaches had become constant compa
