But even through the thick wood, I could hear his heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hallway. Each step felt like a countdown to my doom.
"s**t, s**t, s**t," I muttered under my breath, frantically looking around the room for something—anything—to barricade the door. The dresser was too heavy to move alone. The chair would barely slow him down.
The footsteps stopped outside my door. The silence that followed was somehow worse than the approaching thunder of his stride.
Three sharp knocks broke the quiet.
"Aria." I could hear the underlying current of rage. "Open the door."
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to remain calm. "Go away, Cassian. I think we've both said enough for one night."
"I disagree," he replied. "We've only just begun this conversation. Open the door
