Elora’s POV
My hand still buzzed from the slap, my pulse slammed so hard it felt like it might knock me sideways. The maid scrambled out, white-knuckling her cheek, that tray clattering like her teeth would next. The door snapped shut. Just silence left, thick enough to choke on.
I turned, and Dominic was staring at me. Not pissed, which would have made sense, but something else, deep and unsettling, like he was finally tuning in after ignoring the static for months. He looked at me like I had just grown another head, or maybe just finally removed a mask.
“You didn’t need to...” He cut off, jaw working. For once, words failed him, and that alone was enough to make me blink.
“Yeah, I did.” My voice snapped out, sharper than a blade. Too late to reel that one back in. “She’d have scalded
